Gone with the Bullets
by Daichilover
Summary: After the mass shooting of her family, Kagome goes underground to find her family's killer. In the process, she becomes a wanted woman of Sector 8 and pairs up with Inuyasha, the sector's most wanted man wanted dead. Will she find the revenge she seeks?
1. Bullets number one, two, three and four

**A/N: Ok, this is the prologue for "Gone with the bullets." which was given to me by Kimiko888, if any of you are wondering. Yes, she's the same person who lended me the idea for "Shop til' you drop!" And I hope I get the same response for this too!**

**Disclaimer: I don't own Inuyasha! If I did, I'd have created Inu pups!**

**Disclaimer #2: The ORIGINAL idea was Kimiko's. Anything else mentioned, created or otherwise, belongs to me.**

**Now on with the story **

**Prologue: Bullets number one, two, three and four**

"See you tomorrow, Kagome!" Eri called to the raven-haired girl. Kagome glanced up, gave her a smile and waved goodbye. She returned her gaze to a paper in her hand. Her report card had just been issued to her, and she had finally been able to make an 'A' average, something that her and her mother had been working on since the beginning of her sophomore year. She smiled to herself as she thought of how proud her mother would be.

Keeping her pace steady, she began to walk home to the shrine her family and her lived in. She wondered idly if her grandfather would be out today again, telling one of his wacky old stories. She cut across the park that was near her house to get there faster and tell her mom the good news.

Just as she rounded the corner, she noticed red and blue lights blinking everywhere. At first, she didn't realize who or what was causing it, until she bumped into an officer clearing the vicinity.

"Hold up, little lady, you can't go there. Been cut off, you see." The officer held out his hand, stopping Kagome.

Kagome frowned and stepped to the side. "But I live here!"

Before the officer could say anything else, she bounded across the street to where her house was. She stopped dead at the end of the stairs, gazing at the yellow tape that now blocked entry way, silently and with fear-widened eyes.

_No. . . It can't be. . ._

Kagome hesitated before about jumping over the tape, afraid of what might be on the other side. But she had to, didn't she? Her family had to be okay, right?

She jumped over the tape, ignoring the yells from the officers as she bounded up the steps of the shrine. She came upon more yellow tape, and she jumped that too. She just needed to know that her family was alright. Kagome frowned again. They _had_ to be okay.

There were officers everywhere, but she squeezed through all of them, and none of them seemed to notice she was there. It wasn't until she got inside that they finally realized she had ducked under all of them.

Her mother was the first one she saw. She was sprawled on the floor, the color gone from her cheeks, lying in a pool of her glistening red blood. Her eyes were wide and frightened, as if she had been petrified.

Kagome couldn't make a sound. Horror struck her first and then a couple of seconds later, grief. Her hand hovered over her mother's face but she could not bear to touch her mother like she was now. Her knees gave and the material soaked up the red liquid that surrounded them. It was like a horror movie, only a whole lot worse and actually real.

_ Momma. . ._

Finally deciding that she couldn't live to see her mother's eyes glazed over, she slowly closed them.

Bullet number one.

-x-

Kagome moved away from her mom, afraid of the grief that was threatening to boil over from the inside. The blood stains were still on her jeans. . .

She slowly came to the living room and in horror, found her grandfather on the floor, with two bullets in his chest. The broom was still half-clutched inside his hand, and a small charm was in his other, slightly crumpled. His hair was matted with blood from a head wound, but Kagome could tell the shots in his chest were what killed him. His blood still seemed like it was dripping from his wounds and onto the puddle of blood around him.

Bullet number two.

-x-

Kagome couldn't take anymore. The smell of the blood sickened her and suddenly she had the urge to hurl. She stepped back, tripping and falling down. She scrambled up and reached the bottom of the stairs. She gazed up at the stairs and was afraid to go up. Where was her brother, if he hadn't been down here with her mom and grandpa? Kagome grabbed the mahogany railing as the officers came inside.

"Grab her!"

She rushed up the stairs quickly, her light weight giving her a head's start. She blindly chose a room, hurried inside and shot the door, locking it as it closed shut. Kagome sighed in relief and turned around.

Much to her terrible grief and horror, she saw her brother, lying half-kneeled with her diary at the edge of the bed. He had been shot from behind, a clean shot. There was almost no blood on his back. She realized that he must've never seen who killed him. Kagome tore her eyes away, and realized she was in her own room. On her bed was also her cat, Buyo. He had also been shot and killed.

Bullet number three and four.

-x-

Kagome couldn't help the tears that come down like rain. She fell to her knees and sobbed openly. Her heart felt like it was tearing itself apart and the pain was too much. She couldn't believe someone could do this to a boy, a mere child of eight years, who was kind, loving and so different from other brothers her friends talked about. Why him, of all people?

It should've been her in their places. It should've been her and not them on the floor, dead, without the shine in their eyes. She would give anything to do that. Who could have possibly been evil enough to commit such an atrocity? Who had killed her family?

She sat there, drenched in her own tears and the blood of her family members, and she vowed vengeance for them. A vendetta would be the only thing she would live for. She would not rest until she found the murderer and take their life just as they had taken it away from her family and now her.

Her life was gone, whether or not there was a blood pumping in her heart, whether or not there was oxygen in her lungs. The moment her family has ceased to exist, she had too.

She broke down once more, falling to the floor herself, not caring if the police found her. She had nothing but her sworn vengeance to keep herself alive and not to jump the highest building in the city.

She closed her eyes and imagined her family, ignoring the bangs on the door and it's collapse. She and her family would have been eating dinner by now, celebrating Kagome's grade. Her mother would have smiled and her grandpa would have gone on about some old story.

She smiled at the smile her imaginary mother gave her. It would be the only way to see her smile ever again.

* * *

**A/N: Short, but it was only a prologue. I hoped you guys liked it. I know it sounds depressing and all, but don't give up hope! There is still much more to come! Please **_**review **_**and alert!**

**~Daichi**


	2. Guilty as charged

**A/n: Yeah! Reviews man! I love them so keep them up! On with the chapter!**

**Disclaimer #1: IDntO (that's text for "I don't own")**

**Disclaimer #2: The title also belongs to Kimiko888 (when will anything be mine. . . ? lol)**

**Chapter 1: Guilty as charged**

_Kagome stood in a dimly-lit place, a place that chilled her to the bone. She glanced around and stepped forward, feeling something wet under her shoes. Even in the dim light, Kagome could tell that the dark, glistening liquid could only be blood._

_ Suddenly, the light came on and Kagome's eyes widened in horror and shock._

_The source of the pool of blood was her family, all on the floor, fresh blood trickling down where they had been shot._

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"NOOO!"

Kagome gasped bolting upright, her head coming in contact with the metal bars of her bunk, pain searing through her forehead. Kagome couldn't see a thing in the darkness of the room and as she began rubbing her forehead, yelped when she saw a pair of red eyes glowing in front of her.

"Would you shut the hell up? I can't asleep if you keep whimpering and mumbling about blood." Kagome realized that it was only the hot-headed Kagura that spoke to her. A slight thud above her head signaled to Kagome that she had laid back down. The bed creaked as she moved again. "Naraku has a job for us tomorrow, and some of us would like to be well-rested for that."

Kagome frowned, the name not registering in her mind completely_. Naraku. . . oh yes, I'm still here. _She laid her head carefully on her pillow and curled up into the blankets.

Yes, she was still here. She was still in the boarding room of a run-down building in the bad part of downtown, where she had made Sector 8 her home. She was still an assassin and she was still waiting for her family's murderer to be found. Yes, she waited for too many things, things that might never happen. What was worse, though, was that her heart was still lost to her. She didn't live, in the sense that she was a normal person. She considered herself an existence, and she existed only to find her family's killer.

But then it would be convenient, if the only thing you lived for was that. She had no heart to bother on the hundreds she had killed. She didn't have a heart to care for others, to not pull that trigger. Not pulling it meant Naraku lost money. Naraku losing money because of you, put an end to your life.

Without her heart, she didn't feel the guilt of taking so much human life. If she did, she would have been consumed and eaten alive by the pure pain. Without a heart, she didn't think about how much blood stained her hands, whether or not she could see it anymore. Without a heart, she didn't have to feel anything, and to Kagome, that was a huge relief.

But it was also a huge tear in her heart.

Kagome blinked back the liquid in her eyes back. She had to find the person who had utterly destroyed every aspect of her being. Her vendetta was still strong, fresh in her mind and soul. If she quit now, she would never find out who killed her family, who had killed her. And that was worth more than anything else in the world to her.

_It's the only thing that matters._

-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-

"I want this building." Naraku pointed his finger to a picture that looked about five stories high that laid flat on his desk.

Kagome, Kagura and Kanna had been called to Naraku's office to be filled in on the detail of their next assignment. Usually Rin was with them, but she had disappeared two days earlier on an assignment to kill a big business man. Everyone assumed she had been caught and killed. It was the first disappearance, but the circumstances seemed too suspicious to Naraku.

"It's a great location for expanding the business, especially since there's an underground passage way that would be good for all the smuggling I've been doing."

Naraku glanced up briefly and the three women before him to see if they were keeping up. "The owner is refusing to sell, so we're just going to have to take matters into our own hands. Kanna," He directed his line of vision to the girl. "You are to go to the woman today as a potential client, looking for a place to rent, but I want you to map out the building. Hakudoshi has your disguise waiting for you.

Kanna nodded, leaving out the door.

Naraku then turned to Kagome. "Kagome, I want you to set a bomb. Not a big one that would destroy the building, but one big enough to make repair prices unbelievably high."

Kagome didn't respond and just kept on looking without seeing.

Naraku turned his gaze to Kagura. "And Kagura, I want you to go and kill the old woman. Make it seem like an accident. We don't need another autopsy to the police all suspicious." His mumbled mostly to himself and directed his harsh gaze to the girls. " I want this done tonight. You leave at ten and until you leave, I want all of you to be training new recruits."

They nodded, murmuring a soft "Yes."

A smile pulled on Naraku's lips as he watched his two girls leave his office. He had a good business right here. Someone could just come in and say they wanted so and so dead, and he'd have it done. In his stockroom, he already had piles of drugs that were worth millions all over the world. And his smuggled items sold high as well. Even the revenue from his restaurant chain that he had for the sake of his alibi in the community was pouring in. Anyone would kill to be in his position right now. To say he wasn't satisfied with his life would be the lie of the century.

He loved it.

x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x

**WANTED!**

**Inuyasha Takahashi**

**Height: 6'1**

**Age: 24**

**Breed: Hanyou**

**Missing: 5 years**

**Skills: Master of every weapon, highly skilled at  
close combat, extremely skilled with cars,  
HIGHLY DANGEROUS**

**Crime: AWOL, Killing three team members,  
stealing group truck and motorcycle, leaking  
business secrets**

**Background: Underappreciated since birth.  
Joined Sector 8 at the age of 10 because he  
was homeless and needed food and money  
and had no family. Escaped at nineteen when  
he accidentally killed a five year old girl during  
a mission. Been in hiding ever since.**

**Reward: 10,000,000**

**Wanted: DEAD**

**-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-**

**WANTED**

**Kagome Higurashi**

**Height: 5'5**

**Age: 22**

**Breed: Human**

**Missing: 1 Year**

**Skills: Handles guns, arrows, and bombs. Mediocre  
at close combat. Master of Mystery, Queen of Disguise.  
Second degree black belt in Martial Arts.  
DANGEROUS**

**Crime: AWOL, abandoning group during a  
mission, killing two team members.**

**Background: Family was murdered when  
she was 15. Lived by herself for 3 years, ducking  
land lords and gambling buddies as debt built up.  
High school dropout. Came to Sector 8 agreeing  
to train as an assassin in promise that her debt would  
be paid off and family's killers captured and disposed  
of. After freak accident ran away from the base.**

**Reward: 500,000**

**Wanted: ALIVE**

Kagura sighed as she glanced down at the posters she was supposed to hang on the walls of the warehouse this morning. She shook her head at it. Naraku should've just taken her advice and gone with brainwashing and the memory suppression. It might have cost him a few extra grand but maybe then he wouldn't have two of his best assassins on the run. He was the damn Crime/drug overload and he didn't want to ship out a few hundred bucks.

What a fool.

Inuyasha had already been missing for five years. It sounded pathetic to her that they couldn't even capture one of their own. If anyone found out about this, they would lose major business associates.

She grabbed the top poster took a quick look over Kagome's profile and had the urge to smirk. Naraku has always been so damned proud on Kagome's ability to disappear but now look where it had gotten him? One more assassin gone AWOL and almost no means to find her. Kagura tossed the poster back down on the pile and headed back to the Café to start her 'chores' She's have fund torturing the bits of fresh meat who somehow managed to get in Sector 8 in. The walls she passed were lined with smililar posters of other assassins gone good or just gone. There was another missing assassin with every mission. They were all either dead or in hiding, but sooner or late they would be found, whether or not they wanted to.

Well, except for Inuyasha and Kagome.

Those two seemed to be the only ones who were able to slip under Naraku's nose. Kagura had no idea how Inuyasha had done it, but she had heard that he escaped in the middle of the night, stealing transportation and killing or injuring anyone who got in his way. The members who were greedy and cocky always bragged about being able to capture the hanyou. Their posters were up for a max of three days before they were found dead, dangling on a cliff or somewhere in a ditch.

On the other hand, Kagura knew exactly how Kagome had ran off. She had watched her roommate pack up her thigns in the dead of night, refusing to make noise. She didn't understand why she didn't jump up and grab her or call the guards. She watched her slip through the cracked-open door and sat in the dark to later heard the guns and the rattling of the fence.

She slowed her pace. Why was she thinking about her now? She had other things to worry about. She shifted the weight of the flyer versions of the WANTED posters.

"Reminiscent today, aren't we, Kagura?" Hakudoshi's voice interrupted Kagura's thoughts. She whirled around to glare at the half-pint who had the wretched power to read thoughts. He rarely left her inside her own head.

"What do you want, Hakudoshi?" Kagura demanded, "I've got work to do right now, so spit it out."

Hakudoshi's lisp pulled into a smirk and the wind demon's hostile attitude, but decided not to bother just yet and moved on for what he had been sent for. "Naraku's got a new recruit. He's actually decided to go with the brainwashing, and sice it was your bright idea, you have to train him."

"You mean right now?" Kagura asked, arching an eyebrow.

"Yes. I'll be taking on your morning chore from now on."

Kagura smirked, shoving the papers she had in her hands into annoying little brat's chest and sauntered off toward the direction of her dreaded boss's office. "Have fun," She called over her shoulder, snickering as she heard Hakudoshi curse under his breath.

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"And then she flips on me for being home late. Wasn't like she was waiting up for me, anyway."

Inuyasha only nodded to signal he had heard the comment. He picked up a glass, dried it and placed it on the rack next to her. He repeated the procedure as the man continued the latest infidelity crisis. He usually didn't mind his job. Actually, he pretty much liked it. He worked late hours—which was better than getting up early in the morning—he could slip a drink when he felt like it and he could blow off some steam if any of the drunk customers got his feathers ruffled. Listening to the customer moan and groan about their personal lives was the only downside.

"…you know what I mean?"

Inuyasha flinched at the volume of the man's voice. "Mmhmm…"

"I give her everything she wants and she just leaves to rot for some guy who ain't got no grey hairs. It just… it just pisses me off!"

Shut up, Inuyasha thought painfully, praying to the gods that the man would just pass out already. Or better yet, the guy who was having the affair with this guy's wife could just walk in and start a fight. That would give Inuyasha a good reason to kick 'em both out.

"…how she likes it when she doesn't get her shopping money from me anymore!" the man tossed his head back, drowning the last bit of liquor in his glass. "Can I get another one?"

"Sure."

Inuyasha was refilling the man's glass when he heard the bell over the doorway jingle. His silver ear twitched at the sound from under his hat. His gazed up to see a woman around his age with long, black tresses and stormy blue-gray eyes headed towards the bar. She was wearing form fitting tight jeans and a black and white band tee with a black jacket over it. Her leather boots clicked with a rhythmic beat as she glided toward him. For a millisecond, his breath caught in his throat.

The drunken man looked over his shoulder and smirked at the woman. "I oughtta take her to bed and see what Shiori thinks about that."

Inuyasha glared at the man. "I think it's about time you got back to your wife."

The man murmured a string of curse words as he drank the last in his glass. The girl had taken a seat near the other end of the bar, so Inuyasha went to tend to her.

"Can I get you anything?"

"A job?" she asked, the faintest hints of a smile on her face. "I just kind of got ran out at my last job and I kind of need some money. Are y'all hiring?"

"We could always use some more help around here." Inuyasha's replied taking his most recently dried glass and setting it down. Just give us some contact information and I'll get back to you if the owner okay's it."

"Okay." The girl nodded and gave Inuyasha a small smile. "Kagome Higurashi, cell is 981-4296, home is 542-6986."

Inuyasha hurried to scribble the numbers down before he got them. "We'll be sure to get back to you. Can I get you anything to drink while you're here?"

"I don't drink." Kagome declined, shaking her head. She always had to be on alert in case he tried something he would regret later when she finished with him. "But I can still work a bar."

"Of course."

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**A/N: Finally finished! Thank you for the people who reviewed the last chapter! Please, if you liked this, REVIEW and tell me. Reviews are my fountain of youth! (not that I need it or anything…)**

**-Daichi**


	3. Reasons to Relocate

**A/N: Well, hello guys! Yeah, it's been a while since the last update, but I have a pretty good excuse. I have a TON of school work, projects and homework, but I guess lately, those are ALL of my excuses. But seriously, it's all I do. From 3pm until I go to bed. It's crazy!**

**Disclaimer: So… I don't own Inuyasha. I wanted to say I would make Inu plushies, but I just found out from a friend of mine that they do exist. (They're natural territory would be online and at anime conventions)**

**Chapter 3: Reasons to Relocate**

Kagome sighed as she finally opened the door to her run-down, studio condo on the bad side of town. She had to take three buses just to get to the bar. Hopefully, after a few paychecks, she could buy a used car and then it would be the end of that story. She kicked off her boots and sat down in a foldable chair that she had found outside, just lying around. She let her head fall into her hands as she contemplated what to do next. By now Naraku would be looking for her and she knew that she had to lay low if she wanted to get out alive. She knew that disappearing would only create problems for herself, but her conscious had finally caught up with her and with a snapping back-lash too.

_It was just an accident . . . just a horrible freak accident. Don't even think about it now._

Kagome lifted up her head to the light that was swaying outside her window. Getting up, she strode over and pulled the blinds down. She didn't want to see anything right now.

After a quick bowl of ramen, she sat down on the couch she had bought for thirty bucks off some shady character who lived down the street. Slowly eating, she thought on how she had made it to this point. Being an assassin with no heart had a horrible after effect. She had nightmares of all the things she had done. She couldn't believe she hadn't died of guilt already. She was glad that that she had left when she did. Anymore and she might have burst.

After eating her Ramen, Kagome decided to call it a night. Hoping she wouldn't have a nightmare this time, she got under the covers from her inflatable bed. After a second of laying there, a thought passed through Kagome's head. What if she had to run again? What if, even after moving several times to avoid Naraku's goons, she was caught?

But then she laughed.

How could she, mistress of disguise, ever get caught? She'd chop off her hair if she had to, but thankfully, she had avoided that outcome. Of course, she knew that one day, even the best get bested. She knew she'd eventually be caught, but she would fight to keep that day far, far away. All she needed to do was to find her family's killer and then she'd turn herself in to the police. She would have no purpose anymore and she could die satisfied.

Kagome sighed. Thinking that way always made her sort of sad. She knew that if her mother was still here, she'd tell her to keep on living, but Kagome didn't know how to do that. And, she thought to herself, she wouldn't want to. She missed her family so much.

Her eyes watered, and Kagome angrily dabbed at her eyes. She hated crying. She hadn't cried very often before her family was killed, and she never cried when she had been an assassin, but now that she had taken herself out of that kind of atmosphere, it was as if all the tears she hadn't shed for so many years were finally getting their recompense.

_Damn, I'm such a wimp._

Then, for no reason at all, she suddenly pictured the handsome bar-tender that she had met earlier that night. All her previous thoughts about losing another job opportunity rushed back into her head. She just had to get that job, but after changing apartments and condos so many times, Kagome was used to quitting and starting her life all over again.

As she closed her eyes, she silently wished that she could get the job.

** -x-**

"Inuyasha! Get to working or I'm not paying your overtime!"

Inuyasha, who had decided to snag a drink when he thought no one was looking, jumped and turned around.

"Totosai, I swear you have eyes in the back of your head."

The old man named Totosai grunted at him. "Just because I'm old doesn't mean I can't hear or see as well as you can! I am a demon, you know."

Inuyasha grinned. "You are? I was under the impression you were just an old man with nothing else to do but get people drunk."

Totosai waved a hand at him as he walked away. "If you leave the counter sparkling, I'll pretend I didn't hear that."

Inuyasha laughed and grabbed a dry cloth from under the counter and sprayed the top of the bar with a disinfectant. Methodically cleaning, his thoughts wandered to the stunning girl who had walked in a few hours before. He really hadn't seen a girl as good-looking as she was before. Suddenly, a little piece of paper fell out of his shirt pocket.

Picking it up, he remembered the reason why she had come in. Finishing up, he ran to the back, where Totosai's office was. He was about to lock up; his keys were already in his hands.

"Totosai! I forgot to tell you someone came in today."

Totosai turned around and slightly narrowed his eyes at him. "What kind of someone?"

Inuyasha leaned against the counter. "There was girl in here looking for work and—"

"Was she pretty?"

Inuyasha, for some reason, slightly blushed. "Well, yeah I guess she is, but—"

"Then she's hired."

Inuyasha paused, staring at the old geezer. "That's it? No interview, no test to pass—?"

Totosai laughed loudly, the effects of some of his drunk whiskey coming to affect. "When it's a pretty girl, Inuyasha, you never say no! Haha!"

Inuyasha shook his head. The old man had always been somewhat perverted, but at least not as much as one particular person he knew. Grabbing the keys from the old man, he spoke.

"You go home and I'll lock up." He then paused, rethinking the situation. "Scratch that—you need a designated driver."

Totosai frowned. "I don't need a designated driver!" He turned around, intending to leave out the door, but instead he collided with the wall, which caused him to fall backwards on the floor. Rubbing his rump, he reluctantly got up. He glanced at a laughing Inuyasha.

"Okay, okay. I'll let you drive me home."

Inuyasha shook his head. "If you've forgotten, I don't have a car. Don't worry though; I'll call a cab for you."

Totosai went to go sit down while Inuyasha phoned a cab. It was only ten minutes later that the cab pulled up. Inuyasha hurried the old man outside and closed the door behind him.

Inuyasha sighed and began to check all the other doors to make sure they were locked. As he did, a strange feeling traveled up and down his spine. He shuddered and walked to one of the windows. He glanced outside, scanning the area closely. He narrowed his eyes, but he saw nothing. Inuyasha decided to forget it. Ever since he left Sector 8, he'd been more paranoid, but he had the right to. Sector 8 was and still is eager for his death. Inuyasha had been on the run for so long, but it wasn't really what he wanted. But it didn't matter what he wanted; no, he had to pay for the crimes he committed. The accident changed all that. He deserved this life; the life of a fugitive.

If he had to kill to make sure he could be free from Sector 8, he would do it. Besides, the men who came after him were assassins as well, and the world was better off with them dead.

Inuyasha shook his head from the depressive thoughts. Right now, there were other things to do. He still had to lock up and then go home, maybe eat some ramen. Tomorrow morning he would call the girl and ask if she could start then. Hopefully, she did. He was the only one working the place most of the day, and maybe some company would do him good.

Inuyasha grabbed his things and walked out the door, making sure he locked it. Glancing around him, he jumped, landing on the top of the building. As he jumped the rooftops, he didn't notice the figure that came out of the shadows. The figure watched him leave and then glanced at the bar. He smiled evilly. He would await Inuyasha's return and kill him.

** -x-**

The next morning, Kagome was awakened by her cell-phone ringtone. Wiping the sleep from her eyes, she groggily opened her cell-phone. She wondered idly who would could wake her up this early in the morning.

"Hello?"

"Um, hello? Can I speak with Kagome Higurashi?" a voice came through the other line. It sounded vaguely familiar to her.

"Yes, this is she." She responded. It was the same phrase her mother had taught her to use, but she hadn't used it in years. There were reasons for that though.

There was silence for a moment. "Well, uh, this is Inuyasha. You gave me your number when you came here to apply. I was calling to see if you could start working today."

Kagome sat up abruptly, more alert and awake now. "You mean, I can start working today? That's great! I'll be there!"

"Ok—"

Kagome cut him off, shutting the phone and jumping out of bed. Finally, some good luck was coming around for her. She dressed quickly and ran out her house, locking the door as fast as she could. She barely made it to the bus stop before the bus came. After taking the next two buses, she finally made it about a quarter mile outside the bar. Not one to complain, she quickly marched the rest of the way.

Kagome, in her haste and excitement, didn't notice the figure that had slowly trailed her for half an hour. It wasn't her he was looking for, but he grinned at his luck. Who knew that two of the most wanted people in Sector 8 would just find each other? He smiled to himself. All the easier to take them down. First, he would take care of that half-breed, but he would have to take the girl alive, if he wanted the reward money. But no one said he couldn't have a little fun before he did.

He would come for them when they least expected.

** -x-**

Inuyasha looked at the phone in his hand, confused at what had just happened. He had barely called the girl before she hung up in her excitement to get here. _Well_, he thought, _at least I'll have some company. _He tried to get ready for the stream of customers he had during the morning. (Which to him was very curious. Who woke up at ten in the morning to drink?) He made his way to flip over the open/close sign, but when he opened the door, she was right outside.

"Oh," she gasped, giving him a radiant smile. "I'm sorry, I was about to walk in."

Inuyasha glanced outside and flipped the sign, giving Kagome a small smile. "No big. Come inside and we'll start your training."

Kagome nodded, and walked inside eagerly. Everything looked different in the daytime and she appraised the bar with her eyes. It was decent, but she guessed the really bad drinkers really wouldn't care if all they came here for was the booze.

Suddenly, an old man appeared in front of them. "Oho, Inuyasha!" His smile was directed at the both of them. "So this was the girl you were talking about?" He raised his eyebrows at Inuyasha in a taunting way. She glanced at him, but he only scowled.

"C'mon, Totosai. She's new. At least give her some time to get used to your little habits. Especially the one where you make all the people in the room feel awkward."

Kagome saw the old man named Totosai laugh and clamp Inuyasha hard on his back, making him almost fall over with surprise. "Oh, don't mind Inuyasha, he has no respect for his elders!" He turned and started to walk to the back. "You kids have fun!"

Kagome giggled as Inuyasha stood up again, muttering, "Stupid old man…"

Kagome glanced at Inuyasha, tentatively waiting for instruction. Inuyasha seemed to realize this and quickly began to show her everything. He was worried whether or not she could handle it, but by the afternoon, she was handling orders by herself. She was quick, efficient and very charismatic. Everything he wasn't. Where areas he had prayed that the customers with life-stories would leave, she listened intently and even gave advice to them.

Inuyasha began to observer her more carefully as she worked, Here and there she'd smile, mostly to the women that came in. She really tried hard, but once or twice he caught the same look he had on sometimes. A plastered look of worry. Now why would a girl like her be looking over her shoulder every time someone came in? He knew he shouldn't pry and he wouldn't; the thought just stayed in his mind. Instead, he asked her about her family, but he immediately regretted when he saw the light leave her eyes.

"I'm sorry," he sheepishly said. He was afraid he had tredded inot unwanted territory.

Kagome shook her head. "No, it's not your fault." She sighed, glancing at one of the glasses she was scrubbing and none too gently either. "My family is all dead. My father died when I was five by natural causes. The rest of my family died when I was fifteen." Her voice was quiet as a whisper and she didn't dare to look in Inuyasha's eyes. She might find something there she didn't want to see.

Heaviness seemed to settle on the two young people. Inuyasha wanted to know how they had died, but he knew that she would not tell him until she could completely trust him. Maybe if she knew that he knew how she felt, then maybe she might feel better.

"You know," Inuyasha began. "I don't have any family either. Just my brother, but he never talks to me. I'm dead to him."

Kagome stopped scrubbing and glanced at Inuyasha. "Well, at least I have a friend I can talk to about it."

Inuyasha nodded, drying the glass she had just passed him. "I'm glad we're friends then."

They both smiled at each other, but then the door bell jingled and it was Inuyasha's turn to serve the customer. Kagome attended to the ones already there and he would give this man a drink. He had a long trench coat and a hat on to complete the outfit, but Inuyasha didn't think too much of it. They always got some shady character by the night shift. It wasn't out of the ordinary.

What _was_ out of the ordinary was that he kept getting bad vibes from the man. Obviously he had never met him before, so why did he feel threatened? He tried to shake off the feeling, but it didn't go away.

Kagome nudged him. "Inuyasha is it just me, or is he giving off weird vibes?"

Inuyasha was wide-eyed. "You too?"

Kagome nodded. "Since he came in. I have this thing where I can just tell when someone is downright bad."

Inuyasha agreed. "Yeah, but that's the bar-tender life. Dealing with Psychos. Just add it in somewhere in _Bartending 101." _He smiled.

Kagome giggled and Inuyasha was glad he got her to laugh. Having one gloomy person in here was enough. Besides, nothing was wrong. What was the worst that could possibly happen?

** -x-**

It was closing time, the time Kagome was anticipating the whole day. She liked to work and all, but she had been up earlier than naturally. Plus, working all day with only a lunch break really took a strain on her. The only down-side right now was that there was only one person left, and under the rules Totosai instilled, they couldn't leave until he left. Kagome was gonna die.

_Whichever comes first._

Inuyasha knew the look on Kagome's face. He nudged her. "Kagome?"

She glanced up. "What?"

He glanced over his shoulder and then whispered to her in her ear. "If you want to go, you can," His breath made her shiver for a second. "I'll cover for you."

Kagome shook her head. "Naw, it's okay. I'll wait with you." She glanced at him, smiling. "So you won't die of boredom."

They both laughed, but slowly the laughter died down as they realized the man left in the bar was also laughing.

He lifted his head, the hat on his head falling off, revealing a youthful, yet terrifying face. The man was gorgeous, with a single black braid for his hair. His eyes, though, were like ice as he spoke.

"Aw, what a sweet couple." He took one last gulp of the drink he had in his glass. He grabbed the glass and broke it, but was unharmed. Inuyasha and Kagome were too shocked to do anything. Suddenly, the stranger turned to them. "Is this what happens to Sector 8's greatest assassins when they go AWOL? They turn into softies."

Kagome was frozen for another second. He was from Sector 8… and she knew what he meant to do. She glanced at Inuyasha, who had a determined look on his face. He didn't seem confused at all; what shocked her were the words he spoke next.

"Sector 8, huh? Are the bastards still sending people for me to kill?" His eyes were cold and his demeanor had completely changed. He really was an assassin. "I'm tired of all this damn games."

The man laughed. "Not just for you, but for Kagome as well." He indicated to her in wave of his hand. Inuyasha quickly moved in front of her.

"Leave her out of this."

Kagome stared at the other man with hatred in her eyes as he revealed her secret to Inuyasha.

He tried to act surprised. "Oh, didn't she tell you? Kagome here went AWOL about four or three years after you did. The only difference between your cases is that Naraku wants her alive."

Inuyasha glanced at Kagome, but that's all he did before returning his gaze to the man again. "Who the hell are you?"

The man laughed. "I shouldn't even bother telling you my name, since you'll be dead soon, but what the hell." He grinned evilly and spread his arms out as if to present himself. "I am Bankoutsu." He let his arms fall and indicated to Kagome again. "If you give the girl now, I promise your death will be much quicker. I'm going to have some fun with her.

Kagome got a shiver as Bankoutsu glanced at her hungrily. She wondered whether or not Inuyasha would listen to him. He was probably still lying,

"You're going to have to get through me first." Inuyasha pulled out a gun that he had hidden somewhere from his body, but he had moved so fast, that Kagome had seen it.

The other man was just as fast with his gun. "I wouldn't be so hasty, Inuyasha. There are seven more of my comrades outside of this bar and one signal, and this bar gets burned to hell."

Inuyasha growled, not lowering his gun. "You bastard. Won't fight me for real? Fine, then." He threw his gun down. Kagome couldn't believe he was surrendering, but she quickly realized his plan.

Bankoutsu, by the way he acted, presumed a lot of himself, thinking that he was the best there was. Inuyasha knew that men like this would lower their guard once they thought their prey was safe and secure. Inuyasha glanced at Kagome, his eyes letting her know what to do. When he let his guard down, Kagome would have to grab the gun and fake try to shoot him, while Inuyasha would tackle him. It was risky, but it was all they had.

True to his part of the deal, Bankoutsu lowered gun and laughed at them. "This was too easy." He turned his back to them, and that's when Kagome took her chance. She lunged for the gun, cocked it loud enough for him to hear it and whirl around, just as Inuyasha slammed into him with his body.

They rolled around for a minute, before Inuyasha was on top of him, punching Bankoutsu until he was bleeding from every part of his face. Even when he had fallen unconscious, he still kept punching him. Kagome stood up and laid a hand on his shoulder and shook it roughly.

"Inuyasha, stop! Don't kill him! Isn't this why you left Sector 8? Because you couldn't stand killing anymore?"

Inuyasha stopped and glanced at her. "What's the difference? I killed all the ones before him."

Kagome's eyes pierced him as he listened to her soothing voice. "That was then and this is now, Inuyasha. Change while you still can."

Inuyasha realized she was right. Even if he didn't belong to Sector 8 anymore, he was still killing. At first, it was to justify himself, but now what? She had a point. He let the man go and stood up, grabbing her hand and dragging her to the back door.

"If we're not going to kill him, then we have to run. If we stay, we'll put more people in danger."

Kagome stopped just before they reached into Totosai's office. She glanced at him. "We have to get Totosai, out of here! Now."

Inuyasha nodded, barging in on the old man. Totosai jumped up startled, when Inuyasha grabbed him.

"Inuyasha! What are you doing?" He yelled, as he practically got thrown out of his office. Inuyasha pushed him out of the back door, and pushed some money from his pocket inside Totosai's hand.

"Take a cab and leave. Once you get home, call that business insurance and get the fire insurance, ok? Kagome and I have to skip town, but we'll call you when we get to a phone."

Totosai sputtered. "Wha—wait! What's happe—!"

Inuyasha shook his head and finally pushed the old man all the way out the door and closed it on him. He rushed back to Kagome, and pulled her back to the front.

"Inuyasha, why are we going this way?"

Inuyasha didn't answer. Instead, he grabbed a plastic bag and ran to the register, popping it open and grabbing all the money inside it. Kagome didn't question him but she started to wring her hands in worry and frustration.

He glanced at her when the bag was full and took a match out of his pocket. He grabbed some lighter fluid under the table too. "We need money if we're going to run right? We don't have time to run by a bank and get my savings. We'll do that later." He gave her lighter fluid. "Pour this everywhere, ok?"

Kagome took the bottle and glanced at him, worry in her eyes. "We're going to burn the place down?"

Inuyasha nodded. "It's the only way to cover up our tracks; if we don't, they'll be able to find us again."

Kagome nodded and rushed to start pouring the stuff everywhere she could. She glanced at the unconscious man, but she tore her gaze away before she could see him move.

** -x-**

Bankoutsu was finally coming to. His eyes fluttered and he saw the girl, Kagome, pouring lighter fluid near him. So they thought they could burn him so they could escape? Bankoutsu almost laughed at their mistake. They were just making his job easier. His eyes watched her and followed her until she came near the hanyou.

"Ok, I'm done." He heard her say. "Just… hurry up, ok?"

Bankoutsu grinned as he put his hand in his pocket. No one noticed him press a red button, which sent a signal to his brothers to start shooting into the building. Bankoutsu laughed as the first shots were fired.

They were going to die here and now.

**x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x**

**A/N: I finally got this chapter out! I know it's been a while, but I'm glad on how this chapter turned out. It's pretty long too, at least in my opinion. Do eight pages seem long? **

**Well, whatever. Please REVIEW!**

**~Daichi**


	4. Leaving it all behind

**A/N: So hello again! Daichi, here. It's been a while, but I've been pretty caught up with school and my other stories. I just re-read the last chapter, and suddenly I remembered what I had wanted to do for the fourth chapter. I hope you guys like it! **

**Disclaimer: Don't own Inuyasha. (Although I did dream once that I did)**

**Chapter 4: Leaving it all behind**

Inuyasha only had seconds to react after he heard the clicking of guns. His super-hearing enabled him to hear them before they reached them. He pushed Kagome down to the floor, covering her with his body. If any of the shots got him, he'd heal better and more quickly. Kagome screamed when the bullets pierced the glass and the walls. They were firing everywhere from high up on the ceiling and even towards the floor. Thankfully, none of the bullets hit them.

"Kagome, crawl over behind the counter as soon as I tell you too, ok?"

Kagome nodded, and swallowed, suddenly realizing their position and turning red. Inuyasha didn't seem to notice as he stared at the window. Seeing shadows, he signaled to Kagome to move. He got off of her and made sure she was behind the counter.

Kagome hurried behind the counter and cursed her inability to help. She had long since forgotten how to properly figure out a strategy to protect herself. She thanked her lucky stars that Inuyasha hadn't. She watched as Inuyasha slowly moved to the door, getting right beside it. He picked up a gun and held it up as the door opened.

"Bankoutsu, are you in he—"

Inuyasha pushed kicked the door with his foot so that it came crashing into the face of the person who had just called out for Bankoutsu. Kagome took a peak and couldn't see if it was a guy or a girl. While the other men were busy outside, Inuyasha grabbed Kagome and headed for the back.

"Inuyasha, how are we going to get out of here?" Kagome asked. She was being pulled by Inuyasha and she had no clue where they might be going. Inuyasha stopped abruptly and pulled her into a dark alley just as the group who had been after them passed them.

Inuyasha sighed and glanced at Kagome. "Sorry for not saying where we were going. I was just trying to lose them."

Kagome shook her head and sank to the floor. "I can't believe this is happening _again_." She glanced up at Inuyasha. "I thought that everything would be normal."

Inuyasha sat down next to her. "Yeah, it was normal for me for a while. I guess we have to move again."

Kagome rested her chin the palm of her hand. "But if they found us this fast, they're probably getting quicker at tracking us. We can't run all of our lives."

Inuyasha glanced at her. "You're right."

Kagome stood up, leaning against the wall. "So what do you propose we do? We won't ever stop running unless sector 8 falls or something." Kagome then laughed at her absurd suggestion. "Like that will ever happen."

Inuyasha was silent for a moment, deep in his thoughts. Kagome's suggestion wasn't that weird. It was true that they had caused themselves these problems, but they could take down the core of it. If sector 8 didn't exist anymore, they would have nothing to run from.

"You know what, Kagome? I think you're on to something."

Kagome spluttered. "W-what? Are you out of your freakin' mind? Sector 8 is, like, the boss of all the underground bosses. How do expect us to bring it down?"

Inuyasha stood up and stood next to her, facing her. "Well, we can figure out a way, can't we? All we have to do is lead them into a trap or something."

Kagome rolled her eyes. "Inuyasha, we're not talking about whether we can set up a trap or whatever. It's about getting Sector 8 to fall for it. Naraku isn't an idiot, unfortunately."

Inuyasha crossed his arms. "Well, whatever then. Why don't we start with finding a place to crash?"

Kagome closed her eyes and sighed. "Yeah, I guess. This has been one heck of a night."

Inuyasha nodded and started pulling her away from the alley. "C'mon, we'll find a place."

They traveled along the darker places of the city, so as not to be seen. Inuyasha suspected that someone they didn't know had spotted them from afar and knew about their importance to be captured. The only thing he didn't how to do was change their appearance. He was pretty sure his hair was already a dead-giveaway if anyone ever looked hard enough.

Finally, they made it to a small motel where Inuyasha asked for a room with two separate beds. The clerk gave him a weird look but gave them a key anyway. They paid cash so as not to leave a paper trail and quickly found the room.

Once inside the room, Kagome plopped down on one of the beds. "Inuyasha, I've been thinking." She glanced at him as he went to the window and pulled up the blinds to see outside. "We need to change how we look. I mean, you're hair is a huge clue to anyone looking for you." She then added, "No offense."

Inuyasha didn't take his gaze off the outside street. "Yeah, I was thinking about that. We probably have to give ourselves a complete make-over. I just don't know how."

Kagome chuckled slightly. "Well, today is your lucky day." She stood up and crossed her arms. "You're looking at the Queen of disguises. It's what I was most known for back in Sector 8."

Inuyasha glanced at her, surprise in his expression. "Really? That's great. What do you need?"

Kagome sighed and went to stand next to him and began to count on her fingers. "We need temporary hair dye, a bunch of accessories, wigs if there's a need, new clothes and of course, fake ID's." She frowned at the last part. "I don't know how to make fake ID's though."

Inuyasha grinned. "Don't worry. I know someone who can."

Kagome walked to the window and peeked through the blinds, an old habit she had. "But where are we going to get the stuff?"

Inuyasha grinned and placed a hand firmly on Kagome's shoulder. "Wait here and I'll get everything."

Kagome turned around, but he was gone before she could utter another sentence. She decided to keep vigilance, just in case she had to make a quick escape. Standing next to the window, she thought she saw a glimpse of Inuyasha's silver hair, but it turned out to be nothing.

Minutes passed, but for Kagome it seemed like hours. She had never been so impatient for anything, even when she had had missions before. Anxiously, she kept checking the clock each second. Finally, she heard a small knock on the door. Cautiously, she looked through the peep hole. Unfortunately, the outside of it was covered with dirt and grime so she couldn't see who was on the other side. Taking the lamp that was on the side of the bed. She gripped it in her hand as she turned the knob. If it was anyone bad, she could whack them out of the ball park. She took a deep breath and opened the door.

Instinctively, she raised the lamp and let if fall. She didn't even know it had happened until Inuyasha cried out in pain.

"What the hell was that for, Kagome?" He shouted, rubbing his head and closing the door behind him. Kagome jumped for a second and then relaxed.

"Sorry, Inuyasha. I thought you were one of those crazy guys after us, so I just reacted instinctively." She then glanced at the broken lamp on the floor and raised an eyebrow. "But you seem to have a really hard head."

Inuyasha growled under his breath. "Whatever. I have the stuff." He pushed a bag into Kagome's hands. She opened it and checked all the items.

"This is great. We can buy more on the road, but this is enough for now. By the way," She glanced up at Inuyasha. "How did you pay for this? No store is open at this hour."

Inuyasha shrugged. "I just walked in and took some of the stuff." Right when Kagome was about to protest, he held up a hand. "I left money for what I took okay? No one will know the difference."

Kagome sighed, taking the hair products in her hand. "Well, alright. Come here," She hastened to the bathroom and opened the door. She stood inside, beckoning Inuyasha.

Inuyasha arched an eyebrow. "Well, I had no idea you were like that, Kagome, but I don't think we shou—"

He was cut off when Kagome took off her shoe and threw it at him, hitting him square on the face. She was red and upset. "I was just telling you to come over so we could do something about your hair!" Crossing her arms, she turned away from him and pouted.

Inuyasha growled. "Damn, were you a master in target practice too? That hurt."

Kagome glared at him, and this time walked out and pulled him inside the bathroom. "Get in here so I can dye your hair."

She roughly sat him down on the toilet seat and opened a little hair dye box. Inuyasha looked at the bottle of black dye with a wary expression and gulped. "Kagome…you're not thinking of using black are you? I mean, look at this hair! It's silver. Don't you think it's a little, I don't know, drastic?"

Kagome turned to face him and laughed. "I didn't know you loved your hair that much, but I'll tell you what. The dye is only temporary so you'll have your silver locks back soon." She then looked at the bottle. "But we will have to use black on you. The darker the shade, the better."

Inuyasha closed his eyes in resignation. "Just get it over with."

Kagome only chuckled at Inuyasha's expression as she began doing a routine that, even though she hadn't had to resort to it, was as methodical as if she had been doing it every day. As she applied the dye, she wondered whether to do his ears as well. She touched one when she suddenly felt Inuyasha's hand enclose around her wrist.

"What the hell are you doing? Don't touch my ears. " He pouted, glancing up at her.

Kagome put her hand on her hips. "Well, if I don't dye your ears then you'll look stupid. And noticeable," She added, giving him a look. "Do you want to be noticeable?"

Inuyasha grumbled but agreed. "Okay."

Kagome shook her head at Inuyasha's stubbornness. As she spread the black goop and evened the toning and color on his ears, her thoughts wondered. She wondered what had brought Inuyasha to leave Sector 8. Were the reasons similar to hers or completely different? And what about his background? He had mentioned that he only had a brother, but that he didn't talk to him. Kagome sighed when she thought of that. If any of her family members were alive, even if it was her annoying little brother, she would love to talk to him. She missed them so much.

A tear fell from her eye, and Kagome quickly caught it but not before Inuyasha smelled it. He shifted slightly from his seat.

"Oi, Kagome? You're not crying, are you? I didn't mean to be a jerk. I'm sorry." His voice was softer at the end, like he really did feel bad. Kagome shook her head and sniffled the tiniest bit.

"It's not your fault, Inuyasha." She sighed. "I was just thinking about some sad things." Then she smiled, but even for her it was strained. "Besides, what's important now is how cute you look." She laughed. "I'm done."

Inuyasha jumped up and was about to touch his hair but Kagome caught his hands. "No touching, ok? You don't want black smudges all over your hands." She raised her own to reveal the smudges she had acquired. She was always so careful, but it never did work. She shrugged and chuckled lightly to herself.

Inuyasha wondered how Kagome could switch from depressed to laughing in less than a couple of minutes. He checked his reflection and looked at his hair. Kagome was right; she _was_ good. His hair looked it had always been black and not the bright silver he had grown accustomed too. He looked almost identical to his human self on the moonless night, except that he still had his dog ears atop of his head. His eyes contrasted with the black nicely, something he had never seen before.

"I got to hand it to you, Kagome. This really looks good."

Kagome leaned on the doorway, admiring her handy work. "Of course it is. You got it done by the best."

Inuyasha then looked in the bag. "What color are you going to do your hair, Kagome?"

She laughed. "My hair? Who said we were going to do _my_ hair?"

Inuyasha stilled. "Well, I just thought that's why you wanted it."

She shook her head and pointed to her hair. "No one is going to touch this, ok? My hair is too nice to subject to chemicals and what not."

"And mine isn't?"

She shrugged, a smirk creeping on her face. "Hey, you said it looked good."

Inuyasha laughed and shook his head. "Such double standards."

Kagome crossed her arms and went to stand next to Inuyasha. "I said I wasn't going to dye my hair, but that doesn't mean I'm not changing some aspect of myself. I'll wear a wig." She smiled.

Inuyasha grinned. "Watch out for fleas then."

"You would know about that, wouldn't you dog-boy?"

Inuyasha frowned. He didn't like to be teased, even if it was by Kagome. He ignored her last comment and passed her to get to one of the beds. Kagome leaned against the doorframe for the bathroom and was looking at the mirror, avoiding looking at Inuyasha as he took off his pants.

Inuyasha laughed and wondered how innocent Kagome really was. But then again, it wasn't like he wasn't. He got himself under the covers and made a show of covering his face. "You can change now if you want to."

Kagome shook her head and laid down on her bed. "Not a chance. I'm sleeping in what I'm wearing right now."

Inuyasha shrugged to himself. He could understand why she might want to do that and it didn't bother him at all. He turned over to his side and closed his eyes. Tomorrow they would leave this place and he'd be on the run again. It seemed he was always running, but now he had one purpose in his mind.

Destroy Sector 8.

It was his answer to his and Kagome's problems. How, he still didn't know, but he would formulate a plan to do it. Kagome and him would have to get the works; new identities, new clothes, new everythign. He was pretty sure Kagome would be up for it, since she felt some sort of anger toward Sector 8.

But apart from that, it seemed like she was waiting for something else, looking for something in particular. He thought it might me something to do with her family, but that was all still just assumed. She hadn't really revealed on what had exactly happened, so he couldn't draw any firm conclusion.

Soon, he was fast asleep, lightly snoring and dreaming of his favorite ramen place.

Kagome glanced over at Inuyasha, but he was already asleep. Kagome sighed as she lay there, letting her thoughts run in her mind freely without constraint. She closed her eyes and tried to sleep, but she was afraid. She was afraid to have any dreams tonight, what with just happened. Nothing would be the same anymore and now she was running out of time; Naraku would find her soon and there was no telling what he might want from her.

Punching the pillow a few times, she repositioned herself and closed her eyes. She drifted into a deep sleep, but this time, she did not have any dreams at all.

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The next morning, Kagome and Inuyasha were ready. They had packed all of their things in a small duffle bag for each of them and they walked out of the motel quickly. Making sure not to be a distraction, they took the first bus out of town.

"Where is this bus going, anyway?" Kagome asked, pointing to the map Inuyasha had in hand. He glanced at her and he admitted he like the outfit she had on. It was short and straight and she had straight bangs as well. She also wore a knee-length flower dress with a light jean jacket. She looked nothing like her old self, but maybe that was because of the makeup. They had gone to the store and she had ordered him to change while she shopped for her things.

And now here they were, on a bus, with a map in hand. Inuyasha realized he hadn't answered her question yet and quickly said,

"Well, we're going to this town," He pointed to a part of the map, "Because I have a friend there who can get up some ID's, like you wanted." He whispered the last part into her ear so no one else could.

Kagome carefully arched an eyebrow. "Can we trust this person?"

Inuyasha nodded. "Yeah, he's been my friends since childhood. He's got a wife and three kids too. You'll like Sango, I bet."

Kagome sat and wondered about who this Sango person might be. She hoped they could get along, because male company could become stale after a while. Even now, it was silent and Inuyasha made no move to talk.

Kagome sighed, brushing her fingers through her short black wig. This was going to be a long ride.

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**A/N: So here's the chapter you guys! I hoped you enjoyed it enough to review it. One thing I would like to mention is that there's a new poll on my profile. There are other stories that I have that haven't been completed and I want you guys to pick the ones you want me to update most frequently. You guys are lucky because there's already one vote, but it's still in third place. Please, spread the word of my stories in your own stories and if you do, mention it to me so I can dedicate the next chapter in your honor! VOTE, SPREAD AND REVIEW! **

** ~Daichi**


	5. Meet and greet

**A/N: I'm back you guys! Here is the fifth chapter of Gone with the bullets! I hope you guys enjoy the reading.**

**Disclaimer: I don't own Inuyasha. We'll just leave it at that.**

**Chapter 5: Meet-and-greet**

It didn't take long for the bus to reach their stop, and Kagome was grateful. She needed to get out of the confines of that bus or she was going to go insane. She could only take so much. Getting off the bus, she turned to Inuyasha, who was engrossed in the map in front of him.

Kagome put a hand on her hips. "Where to now?"

Inuyasha was too busy looking at the map. "What?"

Kagome rolled her eyes. "I said, where do we go now?"

Inuyasha pointed to a place on the map and showed it to her. "Here is where my friend lives. It's not too far from here."

Kagome peeked at the map and nodded. "Well, that's good." She sighed and then pointed at her heels. "Because these heels are killing me."

Inuyasha laughed. "Maybe you shouldn't have worn them."

Kagome stuck her tongue out at him. "Whatever."

Inuyasha pulled her away from the bus stop and began walking down the street. Kagome, trailing behind him, was muttering under her breath on how inconsiderate he was being by making her walk in those shoes. Inuyasha laughed silently to himself, but he decided not to torture her more than was necessary. He hailed a cab and both of them got in.

"One eighteen center court." Inuyasha told the cabby. The cabby didn't look back but just nodded.

Kagome poked Inuyasha with her elbow and whispered, "Are you sure we should be going in the cab? I'd feel more comfortable not telling _anyone_ where we were going."

Inuyasha patted her shoulder. "Don't worry about it so much, ok? You'll give yourself worry lines."

Kagome pursed her lips and said no more. She was just worried they would be caught again. Who knew her life could turn upside down in a matter of a few minutes? She thought about the life she could've had right now. She wished that she had never joined Sector 8. She should have been smarter about doing some things, but 'should have' didn't exist anymore. All she could do was think about her future.

But what kind of future was she destined for? A life of running? A life in jail? Or maybe, no life at all? She dreaded thinking of any of those ideas. She just wanted a normal life again. But to achieve that, she would have to find her family's killer. It was the only way she would be able to live calmly with herself. That person would the last and final person she would kill. Period.

Inuyasha sensed that Kagome was in her own world, and sighed himself. He wondered what kind of life she had before that made her turn to Sector 8. He hadn't had such a hot life either though. Always being pushed and kicked around for being half-demon. No one had cared about him and no one seemed to notice when he disappeared. It was only until he killed that little girl that he realized what a monster he had become. He'd been gone from Sector 8 the longest, but it seemed Kagome was reaching normalcy faster than him. If it hadn't been for her, Bankoutsu would have been dead.

The cab stopped in front of a mansion-sized house and Kagome's eyes were as big as saucers as she saw it. "Wow!" She exclaimed. "That is one big house!"

Inuyasha nodded, opening the door and getting out. He held out his hand for Kagome to take it, but she ignored his act of chivalry and instead, sent him a look. "I can get along fine, thank you very much." Inuyasha laughed at her reluctance but didn't take it as an offense. Kagome was just self-sufficient like that.

They reached the door and Inuyasha knocked softly. Kagome stood behind him, waiting. She always felt nervous meeting new people; Inuyasha not included, of course. She just hoped that they would like her.

The door opened cautiously, revealing a woman a little older than Kagome herself. Her long hair was tied a little ways down her back and her eyes were a warm brown. She had on some pink eye shadow too, to match her pink and white ensemble. When she glanced at Inuyasha, she smiled.

"Inuyasha, is that you?" She laughed, opening the door wider. "Since when did you dye your hair? I thought you were a purist when it came to your hair." She laughed some more and then her eyes found Kagome. "And who's this?" She asked, Inuyasha.

Inuyasha pulled Kagome to the front. "Sango, this is my friend, Kagome. Kagome, this is Sango, my best friend's wife."

"Nice to meet you." Kagome extended her hand and Sango shook it. Sango then beckoned them inside and closed the door.

The interior of the home was just as grand as the outside. On the walls hung paintings from very prestigious painters, delicate looking vases were at every turn and if Kagome wasn't dreaming, she thought she saw a chandelier as they passed a room. The carpet was also pale beige but Kagome took off her shoes at the entrance. She didn't want to get the carpet dirty. They seated themselves on the white couch that was right next to them when they entered a small foyer.

"So what's the need this time, Inuyasha?" Sango asked, sitting in the armchair in front of her and crossing her legs. A knowing smile crept on her face.

Inuyasha laughed. "Well, you caught me Sango. It turns out I _do_ need a favor from you guys." His glanced at Kagome and then at Sango. "Where's Miroku?"

Sango glanced at the stairs. "He should be down in a minute. He saw you from the window but he was still in his pajamas." She rolled her eyes. "I swear that man is lazy as hell." She chuckled and then glanced at Kagome. "Kagome, why don't you take off that wig? It must be bothering you."

Kagome jumped up, startled. How did Sango know that it was a wig? "How'd you know?"

Sango laughed softly. "Well, I used to be an agent for the government. I had to know the disguises from the real things."

Kagome nodded, still a little taken aback. She was the queen of disguises. The fact that she had figured it out irked her. Was she losing her touch?

Sango, noticing Kagome's distressed look, reassured her. "Don't worry, Kagome. I wouldn't have figured it out if I hadn't noticed how you kept pulling at your hair."

"Oh," Kagome said, embarrassed. "May I use your bathroom then?"

Sango nodded. "Of course. It's down the hall to the right. It's the very first door."

Kagome nodded and quickly walked toward the bathroom. Sango seemed nice enough, but Kagome hoped that she could be friends with her. When she thought about it, she hadn't had friends for a long time. Not since high school. She sighed as she remembered those carefree days.

Where had everything become twisted?

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Sango glanced at Inuyasha, now that they were alone. She sat up straighter and looked at him dead in the eyes.

"Inuyasha, what have you been doing for the past five years? The police have been looking for you ever since that day you killed the CEO of the largest company in the nation!"

Inuyasha knew he was going to get chewed out, at least a little bit. Sango didn't approve of him being in Sector 8, but she had always kept her opinions to herself. Miroku was the same way.

"I've been in hiding." He began to explain. "I went AWOL on Sector 8 and they've been looking for me ever since."

Sango crossed her arms and then pointed at the hallway. "Did you drag her into this? You better have not involved innocent people in your problems."

Inuyasha shook his head. "No, she's just as deep in as I am. She's been in hiding too, but I don't know for what reason."

Sango lifted an eyebrow. "Can we trust her?"

Inuyasha nodded. "Yes, I'm sure of it. We were both attacked at the bar that I was working for. It was a coincidence that she came the day before and asked for a job. They wanted to kill her too!"

Sango sighed. "Inuyasha, sometimes I wish I could smack you straight into the wall. How in the hell are you going to get out of this mess? Sector 8 is the biggest underground smuggling agency on earth. Naraku has contacts everywhere and one wrong move could get your ass killed and hers too." She jabbed a thumb at the hallway again.

Inuyasha sheepishly spoke. "Actually, we're looking at bringing Sector 8 down."

Sango was still for a minute and Inuyasha was scared. He knew what could happen if she got really mad. It happened to Miroku all the time back when those two were dating. He tried to change the subject.

"Um, where are the kids?"

Sango was momentarily distracted. "The twins are outside in the yard and the youngest is taking a nap." She crossed her arms. "You better hope Miroku gets down here before I get angry."

Inuyasha gulped, but he didn't have to worry. Miroku appeared at the top of the stairs and ran down quickly, jumping steps. He patted Inuyasha's back as he stood up to hug him.

"Inuyasha, it's been so long since we've seen each other!"

Inuyasha nodded. "Yeah, it's been a while."

Miroku released Inuyasha and patted his shoulder. "So what's the favor this time?"

Inuyasha sighed. Miroku was always to the point. "I need some ID's. Think you could whip them up?"

Miroku thought for about a minute before smiling widely and taking a seat beside his wife. "Sure, Inuyasha. I take it that you'll want two, though? I saw the young lady you were with." He eyed him cautiously.

"Don't worry about her," Inuyasha shook his head. "She's in the same situation as I am. We're comrades in arms."

Sango snorted. "Yeah, and you'll be dead if you don't know how to bring Sector 8 down."

Miroku gaped at Sango and then at Inuyasha. "B-bring down Sector 8? Are you mad?" he shrieked, earning a stern warning from Sango that the baby was asleep.

"Yes, that's exactly what we intend to do."

Miroku sighed, leaned forward and glanced at his friend. "I can have the ID's in three days. Is that alright for you?"

Inuyasha nodded. "Take as much time as you need. I'll get a hotel."

At that statement, Sango shook her head. "Oh, no you're not. You two can sleep here at my house. And speaking about Kagome," She stood up. "I'm going to go see if she needs any help."

Sango left the two men in the foyer and as soon as she was out of ear shot, Miroku began talking to Inuyasha. "So what do you have planned?"

Inuyasha shrugged. "We're still trying to figure that out. My guess is that we'll need to infiltrate the business first. You know, ruin their exports and their imports. We need them as weak as they can get."

"Do you plan taking them all on?"

Inuyasha shook his head. "That's foolish, Miroku. My idea is that we could hack into the main system, grab all the information and send it to the police, but to get there we need to bypass all their security to even get to the main computer. That's our safest bet."

Miroku twiddled his thumbs. "That's a very well-thought out plan, Inuyasha. I hope you _can_ bring Sector 8 down, though. Sango and I can't sleep peacefully at night knowing they're still trying to find us."

Inuyasha sighed and remembered the story all too well. Miroku had been in Sector 8 around the time he had gotten in. They became good friends and shared their experiences with one another. Miroku was an orphan and he was being taken care of by a monk until the monk died as well. Sector 8 gave him a roof over his head, food in his stomach and somewhere to sleep at night.

But then Sango came into the picture. She was an undercover agent and joined Sector 8 under false pretenses, but during her mission to find Naraku, she fell in love with Miroku and likewise Miroku had fallen for her. He'd had enough of Sector 8 and was almost close to finding Naraku's weakness, but he was caught and so was she.

Inuyasha knew what their fate would be. They would either be both be killed in a mass shooting with other prisoners and traitors or they would die in front of each other, either hanged or something even more frightening. Inuyasha was still naïve of the world back then, and he felt that it could give him nothing, but Miroku had given him what he had most longed for: friendship. He decided to return the favor and found a way to get them out. Just as he was about to leave, Miroku told him if he ever got away, to find him and Sango.

It was only a couple of years later when he found himself on their doorstep. He was distraught by the fact that he had accidentally killed a little a girl, so he couldn't stay. He didn't want to keep killing innocent people and so he had left. Miroku and Sango, by then married, welcomed him with open arms. Miroku whipped him up a fake ID, since it was his specialty, so that Inuyasha could move around without getting followed. That was the last time he had seen him.

"Inuyasha?"

Kagome's voice pulled him back from his flashback memories. He glanced up to see Kagome with her natural hair again, long and wavy like it should be. "You got the wig off?" he pointed to her hair.

She nodded. "Yeah, but it got tangled. Luckily, Sango was able to get it out." She sent a smile to Sango to which she responded with just as much enthusiasm.

Inuyasha nodded, giving her a dashing smile. "It's better. You're hair is already pretty."

Kagome raised an eyebrow at the compliment, but nevertheless thanked him. Sitting next to Inuyasha, Kagome faced his two friends.

"So what's the plan?" She asked.

"Inuyasha was discussing some ideas with me," Miroku answered, "But you guys should talk to each other about it."

Sango, though, interrupted. "Kagome, I don't mean to pry, but why do you want to destroy Sector 8? What are your reasons?"

Kagome was quite and thoughtful. She didn't how to answer that question without revealing her past, something that she was uncomfortable with, especially with strangers. Not Inuyasha so much, but his friends yes.

Inuyasha could sense that Kagome didn't want to talk about it, so he stepped in. "Kagome still isn't ready to talk about it. It involves a lot of personal reasons."

Kagome glanced up and silently thanked him with her eyes. She was glad that he understood that she just couldn't talk about it yet. But someday she would and he would be the first one she would tell.

Sango hurried to apologize. "I'm so sorry, Kagome. I—I didn't mean for you to remember any painful events." Sango's sounded sincere, so Kagome really wasn't offended. She just smiled.

"It's alright."

Sango stood up. "Well, I wouldn't be a good hostess if I didn't invite you to eat. I have some chicken casserole you might like."  
Kagome glanced at Inuyasha and he nodded. "Sure, if it's not a bother." Inuyasha said, standing up.

"It's never a bother to help friends, Inuyasha." Miroku stood up and clasped Inuyasha's back and followed his wife to the kitchen. Kagome sighed and stood up as well, but kept thinking on how lucky Inuyasha was to have friends like Sango and Miroku who were willing to help. In Sector 8, she never had any friends.

Sango was a friendly person and Kagome was comfortable as they all sat down to eat. Soon the room was filled with talk and laughter, something Kagome wasn't familiar with as much anymore. It made her remember the more simple times she had, when her whole family would sit around the table at dinner time and eat, talking, laughing and sharing experiences. A lot of things in this home reminded her of the one she left behind. Kagome was quiet throughout the conversation, responding only to questions directly asked to her. After their lunch, Sango told them that they could stay with them, since they had some extra rooms.

"Oh, we don't want to put anyone out." Kagome said.

Sango shook her head. "You're not putting anyone out. We just have some room here and I'd rather you stay here than anywhere else."

They accepted the offer and both got separate bedrooms. Just before they went to bed, Inuyasha and Kagome met alone in the kitchen, a cup of tea in each of their hands.

"So have you thought about a plan?" Kagome asked, sipping from her cup.

Inuyasha nodded. "I was talking to Miroku about it. Since it's just us, a direct attack would be foolish. Hand-to-hand combat is my specialty, but even I'm not that cocky."

Kagome nodded. "Does that mean we're going to hack into their main system"?

"Yeah, how'd you know?"

Kagome chuckled. "I just figured. It seems like the next best thing to do."

Inuyasha sighed and leaned back onto the chair. "I know the main computer system is located underground, literally. Sector 8 is made up of a lot of underground caves and tunnels. Any of them could be where the main system is."

"Which doesn't give us any hint where to start, huh?"

"Not at all."

Kagome stood up, walking to the small window in front of the sink and taking a glance outside. "Are you sure we can do this, Inuyasha? Sector 8 seems too big for just us to take down."

"Of course we can. We just need to know how."

Kagome turned, somewhat satisfied with Inuyasha's answer. She grabbed a pencil, a piece of paper and sat herself down in front of Inuyasha. "Then let's get started."

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**A/M: Sorry it took a while for this to come out. I was stumped and had to take a break from thinking about this story for the ideas to be fresh again. There wasn't a lot of action in this chapter, but there definitely will be in the next one! Please, review!**

** ~Daichi **


	6. Past, present, future

** A/N: So I am back and with another chapter of GWTB! I really hope you like this chapter and review! **

** Disclaimer: I don't own Inuyasha, even if it's my dream to do so one day.**

**Chapter 6: Past, present, future**

"Kagome, I think you need to get some sleep." Inuyasha sighed, glancing at the now half-awake girl. She'd slump over the piece of paper that they'd been writing down ideas on every now and then and would jump up and exclaim that she wasn't asleep. Even Inuyasha could tell that she was lying. She might be the queen of disguises but she certainly wasn't a master in the art of lying.

Kagome protested. "But I swear—" She yawned loudly. "I'm really am awake."

Inuyasha chuckled. "No, you're not."

"But Inuyasha!" Kagome complained, standing up and fumbling around. "We need to get this done."

Inuyasha caught Kagome as she was about to fall and shook his head. "Kagome, we have three days to think. Don't stress yourself out."

Inuyasha heard no response and suddenly realized that Kagome was sound asleep. He sighed, scooping her up into her arms and started up the stairs to her room. He didn't mind, of course. She was light and she looked kind of cute when she was asleep. He carefully laid her down on her bed, pulling the covers over her. Seeing her peaceful face, he wondered what could've made a girl like her join Sector 8. He was sure it had something to do with her family but he wished she could tell him about it.

He had lost his family members in different ways. His mother, through an illness. His father, through a fatal wound to his heart. He was only a baby when he died, and he was barely ten when his mother passed away. Needless to say, his life was a hard one. He spent a couple of months in an orphanage, but he grew tired of being ridiculed for being a half-demon. He was filled with despair and hated the world for dealing these set of cards to him.

He went as far as almost committing suicide when his only friend at the orphanage died after a fatal accident. Just as he was ready to pull the trigger and end his existence, a man appeared at the rooftop of the orphanage where he stayed.

This man, he was important, and Inuyasha had known this because of how well tailored his suit was. He had men around him and, as it was raining that afternoon, he carried an black umbrella in his hand. His hair was long and jet-black, his eyes almost red. He looked at Inuyasha's tear-riddled face with indifference. He spoke to Inuyasha in a cold voice. Inuyasha could remember the conversation clearly.

_"Are you really planning to end your life, Inuyasha?"_

_ Inuyasha turned around, surprised to see anyone on the rooftop. "Who are you?" He cried, trying to sound brave._

_ The man only smiled cruelly. "Does it matter now? You're taking the cowards way out, aren't you? Go ahead, do it!" He yelled._

_ Inuyasha growled at this man. He didn't know what he'd been through. He didn't understand anything! No one did. He was just a little half-breed nobody, with no family and no future. So what if he killed himself? No one would care anyway. He swallowed and squeezed the trigger just a little tighter. He shut his eyes closed and tried to pull it harder._

_ But nothing came._

_Inuyasha cried out and the gun dropped from his hands on to the rain splattered rooftop. He couldn't even end his own life. He was a coward. He couldn't do anything right. He had no right to suffer so __much, so why did the powers above keep shoving things down his throat?_

_ The man who had arrived chuckled and walked toward Inuyasha, kicking the gun away with his shiny black shoe. "I knew you wouldn't be able to do it. You're only a boy, after all, and not old enough to have committed anything deserving of suicide." He paused in front of Inuyasha. "I have heard of you, young half-demon. You had a prestigious and famous father, who died defending his little family against extremist groups. You had a mother up to last year, died from tuberculosis I heard? You're all alone, with no one to love you."_

_ "What the hell do you know!" Inuyasha yelled, looking at the man face-to-face, anger fierce in his eyes. "No one knows what I've been through! No one understands anything about me, especially someone like you." He hissed, baring his teeth to this stranger. He found it annoying that this man had seen him at his weakest point and his attitude tried to cover it up._

_ The man only continued to smile cruelly. "Is that so, Inuyasha? What if I told you there was a way to, let's say, pay the world back for everything that's been done to you? I have a need for new recruits in my . . . business. You would do good in accepting my offer. The world doesn't want you, correct?" The man leaned in closer to him. "Join me and you won't have to be looked down again. You'll never have to answer to any insult. I'll make you strong, stronger than your wildest dreams."_

_ "Who are you?" Inuyasha whispered in fascination. Who could promise him all that? Who would _want_ to?_

_ "My name is Naraku."_

And that's where it had all started. On the rain-soaked rooftop of an orphanage, his notorious life-style had been born. He grew up on his hatred of the world and let it fuel his goals. He became strong, stronger even than the demons Naraku had recruited before him. No one could match his skills, and he knew Naraku was pleased with him. He felt that his only duty was to this man, the man who had taken him out of the world he had so desperately begged for acceptance in. He felt empowered, that is, until his life-style caused him to commit a great mistake. He was sent to kill a CEO who had refused to cooperate with Sector 8, but his mission had gone awry.

_ He had infiltrated easily, as the security was lacking and Inuyasha knew how to get around any type of security. He was only half-surprised when he reached the main room where this CEO was still working with no effort. He opened the door but was not ready for the sight inside. _

_ The CEO was armed himself, a gun at his hands, readily pointed at Inuyasha. At first, it wasn't the gun that shocked him. It was the fact that the man and himself looked alike. He'd bet his money that they were related in some way._

_ And they were._

_ "So you're the half-breed my father spawned with that annoying human woman?" His voice was cold, devoid of emotion. "I heard you had joined Sector 8. I never dreamed they would send you to end my life." His eyes narrowed and he cocked the gun. "But trust me on this. You'll never beat me."_

_ He shot the gun, but Inuyasha dodged with precision. A whole battle ensued when Inuyasha managed to knock the gun out of his half-brother's hand. He didn't care for anyone who called him a half-breed and certainly not anyone who called his mother an annoying human. He would not let this demon live._

_ Knife throwing being one of his favorite things to do, he grabbed one from his belt and aimed straight for the heart of the man. The man dodged so he kept throwing until he had ran out. Finding himself evenly matched, he reached for the grenade at his belt. He never used this extreme method, but he had to now. _

_ What he wasn't planning on was the little girl who appeared at the doorway right as the grenade was thrown._

_ "Daddy?" The little girl called sleepily. Inuyasha knew it was to late to stop, even if he could turn back time._

_ "RIN!"_

_ The scream pierced Inuyasha's ears, just as he made his escape through the window. The little girl's scream rattled in his brain even after the fire destroyed the office. He had just killed a little girl. A girl who had her whole life ahead of her, at least, until he had murdered her. He couldn't get over himself. He stumbled on the streets and vowed to never go back to Sector 8. _

Inuyasha snapped out of his memories when Kagome mumbled in her sleep and moved in her bed. He blinked and shook his head. That was his past and it would stay that way until he felt ready to talk about it. Now, his only thoughts were to destroy Sector 8 and protect Kagome while doing it. He didn't want another death at his expense.

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Naraku slowly paced in his office deep in the heart of Sector 8. He was waiting for news about his most recent errand. As a wine bottle rolled emptily on his desk, he sat down in his chair and examined his now empty glass.

He needed these two problems out of his way if he truly wanted to find what he wanted. The only way to make sure no one would be able to defeat him was to make sure no one strong enough existed.

Suddenly, the door opened and a young woman with red eyes and hair up strode in. Her face was taut and emotionless as she spoke. "Sir, the men who you sent to complete your assignment have been found by the authorities. According to their reports, the building where they had found their targets was burned to the ground. One of our men was injured, but it was not fatal."

Naraku growled and crushed the glass in his hand in his outrage. No matter what he did, these two children kept being a liability in his plans. He had brought them up, given them a place to belong to. He had thought that the use of the machine that would have brain-washed them was not necessary, seeing as they had their own reasons to be bitter towards the world. If he had erased those memories, they would not have had the revenge to fuel them. But no, he wished he had done it.

Suddenly, a thought that had been turning in his head for quite a while popped back in his head. He glanced at the red-eyed woman and narrowed her eyes at her.

"Kagura." He called. "How was it that you did not notice Kagome's escape? Weren't you sharing a room at the time?"

Kagura only stared. "I was there, but I was very tired that day. I usually fell asleep after she would, but I fell asleep earlier. I didn't hear anything until the alarm sounded."

Naraku narrowed his eyes at her. "I hope you're telling the truth." He leaned in and gave her a wicked smile. "Because I hold your life in my hands."

She gulped and her red eyes faltered and glanced at the floor for a second, but she composed herself quickly and said in a firm voice, "I'm not lying, Naraku."

Naraku leaned back in his chair and picked up the empty wine bottle, not taking his eyes off of it as it moved. "Then you're assignment will be changed. You will no longer train new recruits. Instead, you will go after Inuyasha and Kagome, seeing that they must be traveling together now." He stood up. "I want Hakudoshi to take care of the recruits and I want you to be ready by tonight."

Kagura wanted to throw something at Naraku, fling herself on him and beat him but she kept her hands limply at her sides. "Yes, sir." She bowed slightly, as was required of her. She left the room quickly, her footsteps echoing in their place.

Naraku walked around and glanced at the place where Kagura had been. He often wondered whether her loyalty was because of her allegiance to Sector 8 or because of his threats. At least she understood that she was in no position to make demands, because with one squeeze, she could die and lose everything she's ever had. Naraku knew that she wouldn't let it go, because she's never had to deal with a situation like this, but he was trusting her with this mission, you could say. No failure was allowed though and if she failed, then her life would end.

The only reason why Bankoustu wasn't next on his list to kill was because he had proved valuable in the past and he might still be useful in the pursuit of his "special object." Anyway, Kagura was just much easier to manipulate and easier to dispose of if she failed.

For her sake, she better had not.

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Kagura couldn't believe her rotten luck. Of all the things he could assign her, it was to find those two traitors. She cursed the day Kagome came to Sector 8. She cursed the day she was born. She cursed everything and anything that had helped form the events of today.

More than slightly pissed off, she went looking for Hakudoshi. At least she wouldn't have to see his face or suffer through his mind reading anymore. That was about it for the positive side though. She quickly went through the secret passages that she had discovered when she had first got here and found his room. Knowing that he hardly left it, she banged on his door, more than loud enough.

Hakudoshi appeared behind her, startling only for a second before her anger set in again. "What the hell, Hakudoshi? Can't you just appear like everyone else?"

Hakudoshi narrowed his eyes. "What do you want, Kagura?"

Kagura turned to him, crossing her arms. "I've come to tell you that Naraku has assigned you the training again. That's all."

She turned to walk away down the corridor and find another passage to her room, but Hakudoshi moved in front of her, blocking the way.

"If he's assigned me training, what has he given you to do?"

Kagura's anger flared. "None of your business, Hakudoshi! Why don't you just go and ask him yourself?" She hissed. "He won't deny you anything."

With that she pushed him out of the way and all but ran down the corridor. She had to get ready quickly because night was approaching faster than she wanted to. There were so many things to figure out as well. She wondered what she might actually do when she saw Kagome again, but she shook her head. She knew what she had to do. She had to kill her and Inuyasha. When she did, Naraku might actually respect her and give her what she most wanted.

Her freedom.

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Three days seemed like nothing to Kagome. It was already the third day and time for her and Inuyasha to leave, but she found herself wanting to stay forever. It had been such a nice experience for her, to feel like what family and friends used to be like. She missed it, even if she wouldn't admit it, and it caused a ache in her heart to ache even more.

Inuyasha and her were able to come with a plan for the time being. Though they had no long-term plan, the short-term plan was to find out Naraku's plans and hack into the computers to find the main computer. That was all that they thought they could do at the moment, because they still had to lie low. Kagome felt like her life was being marked down and soon, something would happen.

"Kagome, would you like breakfast?"

Kagome glanced at her bedroom door to see Sango in a kitchen apron. Her smile reminded her of her mother. She slowly sat up from her lying position on her bed.

"Breakfast would be nice."

Sango nodded. "Well, you better hurry up or Inuyasha and my husband will leave nothing for you or the kids."

Kagome smiled weakly and nodded, getting up and changing from her t-shirt and shorts to something more useful for the day. She ended in another, more presentable t-shirt and jeans that Sango had given her. Kagome brushed through her hair quickly and made a bee-line to the bathroom to brush her teeth. Finally done, she bounded down the stairs to the kitchen.

"Kagome, you're up." Inuyasha called to her when she appeared at the doorway. "You better eat or else I'll everything."

The others laughed, but Kagome could not bring herself to. All she could manage was a smile and a nod. She felt weird for being depressed, but she couldn't help it. This place was bringing back memories that made her want to go back in time, to a simpler place. She missed her family so much but it was worse now.

Inuyasha stopped laughing and everyone fell silent as they watched Kagome sit down. Inuyasha knew there was something wrong. She was never so . . . down like this. What was it that made her feel that way? Inuyasha found himself wanting to see her smile and hear her laugh, for no good reason other than to see her happy. But since it was their last day with Sango and Miroku, he wondered if there was anything he could do.

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"Well, I guess we have to go." Inuyasha sighed, grabbing what little Miroku had given him and stuffing it into a small case. Kagome stood against the doorway of Inuyasha's room, leaning on it but not looking at Inuyasha. Her mood had not changed much, only now she was more contemplative than anything. Inuyasha still hadn't found a remedy for her melancholy.

"I guess we do." She whispered softly, arms crossed and her own small suitcase on the floor.

Inuyasha sighed, but didn't say anything to her. He grabbed the suitcase and brushed past Kagome who reluctantly followed him. At the foot of the stairs, Sango and Miroku stood, suitcases of their own in their hands.

Inuyasha stopped halfway down the steps. "Why are you guys holding suitcases?"

Sango rolled her eyes. "What do you think we have them? Miroku and I have decided to come along on this mission."

Inuyasha shook his head, running down the remaining stairs and past the married couple. "No, no, no, no! This is not what we came here for." He turned to Miroku. "There's no need for you to come. Just give me the ID's and you won't have to worry about this."

Miroku pulled out the Ids but held them high. "I'll let you have them on one condition." he glanced at Sango who nodded. "We want to come with you guys because we believe that this is not just your battle — it's ours too. We want to hep." The last line was said with conviction and with a firmness that Inuyasha dared not go against.

"What about your kids?" Kagome said, appearing at the foot of the stairs. "You can't just leave them. They need their parents." She said softly and with such sadness in her eyes that Sango almost retracted their tag-a-along insistence, but then, Miroku stepped onto the plate.

"We know that, Kagome, but the only way to make sure that they'll always have us," Miroku looked straight in the eyes of both Inuyasha and Kagome. "is to make sure that there's nothing threatening that."

Kagome sighed. "Having your family gone or away from you hurts, Miroku. I of all people should know that."

Sango laid a hand on Kagome's shoulder. "That's exactly why we have to do this. So that they don't have to go through the same pain you had to endure."

Kagome was quiet at this and turned away, not wanting to look at Sango. She was right. If they just sat there, they'd be easy targets. If they didn't take care of Sector 8, no one would sleep soundly at night, including those three precious children. She couldn't argue with that logic. She shrugged away from Sango's hand, and walked to the door and paused.

"Let them come," she directed her comment to Inuyasha. "If that's what they want, we can't say otherwise."

Inuyasha sighed and turned back to Miroku. "Go ahead and come. But we're taking your car."

Miroku chuckled, the keys of his car in his hand. "I wouldn't have it any other way."

Each person knew that at any costs, Sector 8 had to be brought down. If they were to live their lives, they needed to be problem free. Kagome now had a new reason to bring down Sector 8 and it burned within her. She would not just fight to avenge those who had already died, no, now she would also fight to protect those who could still live.

Inuyasha shook his head and headed out to the car, finding Kagome standing, staring at the stars above that were just becoming visible in the hues of the setting sun. He wondered if what Sango had said had affected her negatively, but it seemed to have the opposite effect. It seemed to have lifted up her head to a much broader understanding.

He only wished it that it could have been him to have helped her.

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**A/N: So there's the chapter! I hope you guys liked it! I don't know why, but I made Kagome feel real depressed. Nostalgia, probably. She misses what she used to have. Anyway, I think this was really good. Please review and tell me if you liked it!**

**~Daichi**


	7. Quest

** A/N: Hey! So haven't written anything for this story anymore, but the last review really made me think about updating and so I am! Thank pokemon-chan for this chapter.**

** Disclaimer: I don't own Inuyasha! Don't come looking for me cause you won't find me. ;D**

**Chapter 7: Quest**

Kagura slid roughly into the front seat of the loaned car given to her by Naraku. She opened a bottle of water, sipping the cool liquid for just a second before capping it once more. She grunted as the car purred to life, slamming the gas pedal a little harder than needed as she reversed out of the parking lot she was in.

She hated the fact that she was on this stupid mission. Naraku probably knew more than he led her to believe. He wouldn't send her to find Kagome—and by default, Inuyasha—if he thought it wasn't her fault that they were gone in the first place. Or would he?

Taking a sharp turn onto the highway, she glanced at the dash board. There was a screen with her instructions, sort of like a GPS, but the difference was that this was a computer directly connected to the main data base of Sector 8 and was guiding her along her little thrown-on mission.

First, because she wanted to take as long as she wanted to, she was going to find out everything there was to find about Kagome and Inuyasha. She knew Inuyasha's basic story because he had been so famous before he had gone AWOL on them, but Kagome—even when she had been with her—hadn't said a word about her past. Nothing, not even a syllable. All Kagura knew about Kagome was her last name, and that was only because she had been assigned to train her and then share a room with her.

The first thing she taught her trainees was to know the enemy well enough to write a book about them. She was going to be damned if she didn't follow her own advice.

Kagura pressed the touch-screen and came to a map she had already marked. The first place she was going to visit was an old shrine.

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"You really want us to stay here?" Sango looked at Inuyasha and Kagome strangely.

"You should've thought about our limited funds," Inuyasha shrugged as they walked from the parked car to the office of the dreary, rickety old motel place. They hadn't traveled far, but Inuyasha was in an area where he knew an old contact. They had stopped to find a place to stay for a bit while he gathered more information.

"But, really, this place?" Sango sighed, pointing at the raggedy building and shook her head in defeat. "I should have brought my credit card."

"Dearest Sango, that would only leave a paper trail. Don't you remember the days of your espionage?" Miroku grabbed the bags and walked beside his wife.

"I guess," She crossed her arms. "But back then the government had paid for my lodging."

"Sango, Miroku, hurry up!" Kagome called from ahead of them. She was worried they would be spotted although over the ride they had adopted new disguises. Sango's hair was now loose and she had her bangs in view again. This made her look nothing like the Sango from her days of being a double agent. She looked more fragile and cute this way, much to Miroku's liking.

Miroku hadn't changed much, but his hair, which until then had been to the nape of his neck and free-flowing, now had it in a pony-tail, something he hadn't done since he had left Sector 8. He knew that as they went along, they would have to disguise themselves them much more but he wouldn't think of chopping off his hair until then.

Kagome was back in the wig she had gotten tangled in before. She was now getting the hang of it all again and so this time it was easy to act superfluous and in character. Kagome's favorite part of disguising was creating the new persona, the new facade she could put on and off at will.

Inuyasha still only had his hair dyed black and was still almost easily set apart from the group. Still, Kagome had been right that his hair was a huge tip for anyone who wanted to spot them quick and easy. At least this way they wouldn't go without a fight.

The motel was easy to get. The hard part was going to be to find Inuyasha's old contact.

"He's a little queer, I guess you could say." Inuyasha tried explaining this character to his friends, who had piled into his room for a debriefing. "I don't know if he'll even spill."

"How do you know he won't betray you?" Kagome asked, lifting an eyebrow. "Sector 8 isn't known to have the most loyal of comrades, you know."

And for some strange reason, Inuyasha blushed, suddenly uncomfortable. "I really don't think he's going to say anything. He's not afraid of Naraku either. Besides, he's not part of Sector 8, at least not now. He's just a good informant. "

Kagome raised an eyebrow at the blush. She'd never seen him like that. Instead of asking him directly, she decided she would be merciful and not ask questions until after they met this person. She was not one to judge, after all. She had own share of baggage.

"Well, then. Hopefully, we can get this information." Sango stood up, stretched and yawned. "I say we talk about this later in the morning. I'm tired."

Miroku stood up immediately behind his wife and smiled. "Yes, we should get some rest. I believe tomorrow will be a very long day."

"I guess so." Kagome agreed. "I'll be going with Sango in her room." She grabbed her bag, but not before Miroku stopped her.

"What?" Miroku raised an eyebrow, eyes wide. "I should go in her room I'm her husband!"

Sango smacked his arm. "How do you expect Kagome to sleep in the same room as Inuyasha? You prude!"

"We couldn't get three rooms?"

Inuyasha rolled his eyes. "We have limited funds, Miroku, and an extra room is a luxury if Kagome can bunk with your wife. Sorry, man." He put a hand on his shoulder in compassion, while poor Miroku could only sulk as he gathered his things to sleep for the night, mumbling under his breath.

"C'mon, Kagome." Sango grabbed Kagome's elbow and began leading her away rolling her eyes at her husband's complaints and then smiling sweetly at her temporary room-mate.

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"What's on the agenda for today?" Sango asked, nibbling a blue-berry muffin she had acquired. A moment later, Kagome shuffled into the kitchenette of their room—where everyone had decided to meet—looking as if she were still halfway in dreamland. A soft smile sat upon her lips and her eyes were half lidded until she took a deep whiff of the sweet smell of coffee and instantly perked up.

"Mine?" She asked eagerly, eyes wide as she caught sight of everyone else's coffee cups. Inuyasha held up the fourth cup, and like a dog after a squirrel, Kagome barreled towards him, hands expectantly grabbing for the cup, only for them to come away empty. After seeing the confused look on Kagome's face, Inuyasha let out a snort of laughter. Kagome looked up to see Inuyasha holding the cup above his head, a mischievous grin on his face.

"We're going to meet my source so we can get some intel on Sector 8." His answer was directed to Sango, but he didn't break eye contact with Kagome. "We're going to have to do some sort of short mission to gain the information we need, but it shouldn't be anything too bad. I figured after that we could split up to gather supplies like disguises and weapons before we came back here and set out on our mission."

"Sounds reasonable," Miroku said with a nod of his head, before something else caught his attention.

Poor Kagome was still trying to get her coffee and everyone watched on in amusement as the raven haired girl lunged to try to retrieve her cup, not realizing that if she did get it, she'd spill it on herself. When Sango realized this, she stood up and smacked Inuyasha on the back of the head.

"Bad dog. Drop it! Give Kagome her coffee." She scolded like the mother she was.

Inuyasha glared at her in annoyance. "Oi, I'm not an animal! You can't just go around smacking me!"

Sango glared at him, "Then stop acting like one,"

"I'm not."

"Inuyasha . . ." Sango warned with an angry glint in her eye.

"Here." Inuyasha whined, holding the cup of coffee out while looking like a sulky child that had just been spanked. Kagome snatched the cup away from him, shooting daggers with her eyes and drank the heavenly mixture.

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Twenty minutes later, the four ex-agents found themselves in Miroku's car on their way to meet Inuyasha's informant.

"Who's this Jakotsu person?" Kagome asked Inuyasha, gracing him with another evil look as she gulped the rest of her coffee.

Inuyasha rolled his eyes. Was she really that mad? He hadn't meant to get on her bad side. He was only playing with her, trying to keep her out of the bad mood she had been in the day before. So sue him for trying to cheer her up.

"Jakotsu is just someone I know." Inuyasha mumbled quietly, choosing not to elaborate anymore on the subject.

"How'd you guys meet? You never did tell me much about this friend of yours." Sango mused, turning in her seat to glance at Inuyasha,

"We're not friends. . ." Inuyasha trailed off, his cheeks once more flushing red. He didn't want to talk about how they had met. It was something he preferred to not think about.

Sango brow furrowed in confusion. "I thought you were since you suggested we go—"

"Well we're not!" He snapped, turning to the window to end the conversation. The rest of the group exchanged a weird look before letting the question drop.

It didn't take them long to get this informants house. It wasn't huge, like a mansion, but it was larger than your usual house. There was definitely a feminine touch to it as they walked up to porch, where flowers grew along the post, which was quite the contrast at the broken and run-down homes next to it. Inuyasha made a mental note to never come down here again.

To his surprise, a maid greeted them and led them inside, bowing and then leaving to retrieve her higher up. Inuyasha could only pray that Jakoutsu wasn't going to embarrass him, but that prayer was out the window as someone bounded down the spiral stairs.

Inuyasha! Old buddy, old pal, how are you?!" A feminine voice screeched. Sango arched a brow as a kimono clad figure flew across the room to greet the hanyou with a tight hug that made him turn red from the neck up and look uncomfortable.

"You didn't tell me Jakoutsu was a girl." Kagome whispered sounding a little peeved once Jakoutsu let Inuyasha out of the seemingly intimate death-grip hug.

"Jakoutsu is a guy." He breathed in, hoping that his lungs could still expand. "And he's not my friend either before you ask." Inuyasha growled lowly.

Kagome burst out laughing as the realization of the issue hit her. No wonder Inuyasha looked so uncomfortable! She made an effort to control the cute little snorts escaping her mouth, but found it almost impossible. Inuyasha shot her a look, but didn't scold her. He really felt pleased that she was laughing.

"What brings you here? It's been years since you've come by to see me."" Jakoutsu purred. He had a slightly lusty look in his eye as he took note of Miroku standing off to the side. "Ooh, and who's your cute little friend here?" Jakoutsu drew closer to Miroku, who frantically looked for a discreet way to escape the strange informant.

:He's my husband," Sango smiled deathly sweet, taking a protective step in front of her husband who let out a sigh of relief.

"Oh, he's taken." Jakoutsu pouted, obviously upset that he wasn't going to get much fun out of this visit.

"And the father of two kids. He plans on staying that way." Sango continued, again with the same smile that sent shivers down spines.

Jakoutsu regarded her, slightly frowning in concentration. "At least you're pretty,"

Sango's smile twitched. She wasn't sure whether or not to take that as an insult or a compliment.

Inuyasha jumped in quickly and asked, "Jakoutsu we're here because we need some info on Sector 8. We need to know about its innermost workings and who the main supporters of it are."

"I could do that!" Jakoutsu clapped his hands in delight."But of course I'm going to need something in return."

"I was afraid you'd say that." Inuyasha mumbled unsmiling.

"Come now, Inuyasha, when have I ever done anything for free?" Jakoutsu put his hands on his hips very womanly.

"What is it that you need?" Kagome asked, hoping to get their information and not waste time. Jakoutsu looked at her with surprise, finally realized she was there, giving an inquisitive look before scrunching his nose, shrugging and blowing her off. Jakoutsu turned back to Inuyasha as if she had never said a thing.

"Well, for one, I'd really love your ears. They look so soft." Jakoutsu reached out for one of Inuyasha's still black ears and he abruptly took a step back.

"Nuh uh."

Jakoutsu narrowed his eyes, but then crossed his arms as he considered something else."Well there's this toy I've been eying for a while now. You might have heard about it." He turned his back to them as he began walking to an empty slot on the wall of the room. "It's called the snake blade."

"The one that the Samurai legends talks about?"

Jakoutsu turned around and gave Kagome a deadpan look when she spoke, continuing on as if she hadn't interrupted.

"It's in a shrine on a small island inhabited by monks. The shrine is located on the top of the only mountain there."

"The only protection on the island are the monks?" Sango asked.

Jakoutsu gave her a nod, a sly smile forming on his face. "Oh yes, my pretty friend. the monks are the only ones there."

"Well that shouldn't be too hard." Miroku cut in. Monks were peaceful, he thought, they shouldn't put up too much of a fuss if worse came to worse and the group was caught.

"So get the sword and bring it back!" Jakoutsu turned to face them all. He indicated for the servant girl to open the door and walked the group out. "I'll give you the weekend to do it. I'll have all the information you need. Bye Inuyasha!" He leaned on the door with a lecherous look in his eye as he waved. Inuyasha all but ran to get off the property and the rest of the group followed willingly.

"I can't believe he blew me off!" Kagome huffed as she got into the car.

"At least he wasn't trying to undress you with his eyes." Miroku shuddered. He didn't think he would ever set foot in that place again.

"Calm down, Kagome. It's not that big of a deal," Inuyasha said while buckling himself in.

She turned to him, an angry glare in her eyes. "Oh, it's not? It doesn't matter to you that he just pretended I wasn't there? You know what?" Kagome fumbled to unbuckle her own seat belt before she opened the car door and got out. "I'm going to just get the stuff for out disguises here and I'll meet you guys back at the hotel."

"Kagome, are you sure? This isn't exactly the best neighborhood." Sango wore that concerned look that only mothers could master. She was sure that Kagome could protect herself, but the thought of leaving her in this neighborhood with the shady men and their wandering eyes made Sango uneasy.

"I can go with you if you'd like." She offered, thinking it would be a good opportunity to talk. She was worried about her young friend. Her moods had been a bit odd the past few days and she wanted to talk to her about it.

Kagome rolled her eyes, but was still touched by her friend's concern. "Sango, I was an agent for years. I'll be fine." With that she slammed the car door shut and stomped away.

"Good going Inuyasha," Miroku sighed as he drove away.

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"Mommy, can I have a dollar for the ice cream man?" A little boy tugged on his mother's skirt, trying to get her attention.

"No sweetie, we don't have money for that right now."

With a shrug of his shoulders and a pout on his face, the boy sat on the steps of his house and sulked. Kagome had been walking by when the boy asked his mom this. The dark haired little boy looked so much like her brother it made her stop in her tracks. He had the same dark unruly hair, and small stature. She remembered the way Souta would ask her mom the same question and would pout the same way when the answer was no. Kagome would always give him a dollar to cheer him up. She shifted all of her bags to one arm and dug around in her pocket for a stray dollar.

"Here," She said, holding the dollar she had fished out to the little boy.

"Thanks, miss!" A grin lit up his face as he ran out to meet the music-playing truck. He ran straight across the street without looking and Kagome's eyes widened in horror as her gut told her something horribly wrong was going to happen.

"Wait!" She screamed, trying to reach him before the car speeding around the corner did.

"Wait! Wait! No!"

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The door to the hotel room opened and Kagome stumbled inside, dropping all of her bags in the doorway.

"You're right on time." Sango gulped, not turning away from her food. "Inuyasha was about to eat your bowl of ramen." She kidded lightly.

When a reply didn't come, the group turned to see the black haired girl standing in the doorway; she wore a disturbed expression on her face and blood covered the front of her clothes. Miroku was the first to react.

"What happened?" He asked, taking hold of Kagome's arm and towing her further into the room, closing the door behind them. She wouldn't answer, just stared unseeingly ahead.

Inuyasha immediately jumped up from his chair and hurried over to Kagome, fearing the worst. He should have never let her stay by herself in that neighborhood. He would never forgive himself for whatever had happened to Kagome. He had no doubt that it must've been bad. She was practically catatonic; nothing anyone was doing could elicit a response.

"Kagome, please tell us what happened." Inuyasha inquired gently, glancing into Kagome's chocolate brown eyes. Something inside her snapped back to reality at the sound of his voice and she buried her face in Inuyasha's shirt, a loud sob heaving out of her throat. Feeling more alarmed, Inuyasha wrapped his arms around Kagome's small frame, holding her close.

She could barely whisper her answer. "I think I just killed a little boy."

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**A/N: You have another person to thank for this chapter. The wonderful **_**midnightlily **_**(she's always been just Bella for me)**__**has agreed to be my co-author and wrote the last half of this chapter. The story is finally back from the dead! Sorry it took so long. I just hope you guys will stick with me on this until the end. **

** Feedback is greatly appreciated. Bella and I would love to hear what you have to say. **

**~Daichi**


	8. Too close for comfort

******A/N: Here's the next chapter. Enjoy!**

******Disclaimer: Neither Bella or I own Inuyasha.**

******Chapter 8: Too close for comfort**

"I killed him," Kagome spoke louder, clutching to Inuyasha's shirt like a life line. "I killed him!" The anguished cries that erupted from her mouth made her friends cringe and Inuyasha hold her tighter.

"Kagome, what are you talking about? What happened?" Sango bent down, her hand squeezing her younger friend's shoulder, her voice full of motherly concern. She glanced at Inuyasha and saw the alarmed expression on his face, begging for her to help with what he had no idea how to deal with.

The raven haired girl tried to speak, but her words were a garbled mess lost in her sobs. Sango rubbed her back, finding no other solution than to let the poor girl cry herself out.

Kagome felt herself being plunged into the deepest despair she had ever felt in her life. As she clung to Inuyasha and as he held her close, she felt as if she was breaking into little pieces. The boy . . . this was just hitting too close to home. She remembered—relived—that horrible, nightmarish day she had found her family dead. She only sobbed louder as she saw their faces, blank and unfeeling staring back at her as if saying it was her fault that they were dead. Oh, how she wished she was, but the world was cruel and fate even more so; she couldn't save her family back then and because of her kindness, another innocent person was gone.

And yet, what could she have done? There was no going back to the past. Everything had gone out of her hands so quickly she hadn't even seen it happen. Just like with her family, that woman she had killed in the bombing, and now the boy. Would everything she'd do turn out like this? She didn't want to think that. Kagome desperately held on to the belief that she could be of use to someone, to something. She _needed _to. Why else had she gripped the idea of avenging her family?

Kagome snapped back to reality when she felt Inuyasha stroke her hair. She had forgotten where she was, who she was with. She realized how out of place the situation must look to her friends. They knew nothing of what had happened to her before. They deserved to know why she had broken down.

She found it hard to speak, but when she had finally gathered herself enough, she pulled away from Inuyasha.

She glanced at the worried expressions of her friends and immediately the tears welled up in her eyes again. "I—I'm sorry." Her voice wavered a bit, but Sango's reassuring hand on her shoulder gave her courage to keep speaking. "It's just . . ." Kagome didn't know how to start, so she glanced at Inuyasha, who was still looking at her with such anxious eyes that it made Kagome's heart skip a beat. Did he really care about her that much?

"Do you remember the day I started working with you in the bar?"

"Yeah, I do." Inuyasha nodded, not yet understanding what she was trying to bring up.

Kagome closed her eyes, pressing her lips in a fine line before asking, "Do you remember what we talked about?"

Inuyasha rattled his brain to remember their conversation. He remembered how she had smiled and laughed when they were talking, but then he remembered bringing up a subject that had wiped the smile right off her face.

"Is this about how your family died?" Inuyasha realized, holding her hands to comfort her as the look of hurt flashed across her face.

Kagome didn't waste any time in confirming this. "When I was fifteen, I was coming home from school. My friends and I were chatting up my good grades—my mom and I had worked hard studying so that my report card would look better." A bitter-sweet smile came to her face as she remembered her dear, kind and loving mother. "We split up at the usual corner like always. Nothing had seemed out of place that day." She glanced down, looking at her hands enveloped in Inuyasha's stronger ones. Kagome couldn't lift her gaze to any of them as she continued.

"The police were already there by the time I got home." Kagome's tears fell, but she pressed on before she couldn't speak anymore. "I slipped past them to get inside and . . ." She lifted an arm and pressed it against her mouth, trying to hold her emotions in check to finish. "and I . . . I found them dead_—murdered_." Her voice broke, but she continued even as her voice began to be marred by her crying. "Someone had shot them . . . they hadn't even seen it coming." At this, she covered her face with her hands, no longer able to hold the dam of tears in.

"Oh, Kagome." Sango hugged her friend tightly and rocking her gently. "I'm so sorry. I'm so sorry you had to go through that."

"I miss them so much," Kagome confessed. "That's why I felt so depressed at your house. It reminded me too much of what I had lost. I joined Sector 8 just so that I could find the bastard that had killed them."

Sango sighed, wondering if there was anything she could do to help her friend feel better. She glanced at her husband and said, "Miroku, go make some tea. Inuyasha, help me get her to bed."

Miroku immediately began rummaging around to see if they had any tea, while Inuyasha helped Kagome stand up again. He felt so pained to see her so shattered like this, but he knew how it felt to lose beloved family; she had lost hers in one of the worst ways imaginable. He held her waist to steady her as Sango slowly led Kagome to the room they were sharing, comforting her as a mother would. Inuyasha knew that if it had been only him with Kagome, he would've had no idea how to deal with this situation. How he thanked the gods that Sango and Miroku had insisted on coming.

No sooner had Kagome's head hit the pillow, she fell fast asleep. Sango decided to check to see if she had any wounds and found that she had a medium-sized cut on her side. It had bled some, seeing as Kagome's shirt was spotted with blood, but it wasn't severe. It had already started to heal.

She glanced at Inuyasha, whose eyes were still fastened onto Kagome and full of genuine concern and something else that she couldn't quite put her finger on. Sango mused for a second what that could mean for the two, but decided to dwell on that later. Right now, they had a lot to discuss. "Let's go back to the kitchen."

Inuyasha followed Sango back to where Miroku was just setting out some plastic cups. He glanced at his wife and asked,

"How is she doing?"

Sango sighed, the chair screeching as she pulled it back and sat down. "I think she'll be fine. We just need to let her have some time to rest." She glanced at the cold ramen sitting in front of her, all but forgotten with Kagome's incident.

"I thought you wanted me to make the tea for her," Miroku looked confused as he realized that Kagome was sleeping and was not going to need the tea.

"The tea is for us." Sango shot him a look as she stood up and poured herself some hot tea. Heavens knew she needed some of that delicious warmth. She went ahead and poured some for her husband and Inuyasha, setting it down in front of them as she slid back into her chair.

"I guess now we know why she joined Sector 8," Miroku mused. "Being so young and having been ripped away from your family in such a way—it would bring anyone on their knees."

"And poor Kagome's been suffering alone for all this time." Sango shook her head slowly. "She is a very strong woman to have carried that burden all by herself for such a long time. I doubt whether anyone else even knew her family was dead."

"I can only half-imagine her pain." Inuyasha glanced up at his friends. "My dad was killed by extremists, that much hurt, and then I lost my mother years later from an illness." He took a sip of the tea and felt it burn down his throat. "But I didn't see my father dead and by the time I saw my mother; the nurses had already cleaned her up so that she looked almost like she was asleep."

"I'm sorry to hear that." Sango quietly sipped at her tea. "My parents died when I was very young, so I hardly remember them. My brother, Kohaku, and I were taken by the courts and placed in different homes. I don't know what's become of him."

"Well, since everyone feels like sharing their family stories, even though my dear wife here already knows mine as I know hers, I guess I'll share mine." Miroku poured himself some more tea. "My father was never in my life—he just knocked up my mom and she never saw him again." Miroku sighed. "She really never got over that. Once she realized that I was a look-a-like of my father, she couldn't stand the sight of me. Threw me out the house at the tender age of 10." He then grinned at Inuyasha, patting his shoulder in brotherly sort of way. "I found Sector 8 after that and this guy here."

Inuyasha couldn't help but grin as he regarded his long-time friend. "You were a scrawny little thing. I took pity on you; still is the only reason I'm your friend."

"I'm appalled!" Miroku feigned hurt as he held a hand to his chest. "And here I thought I was the one taking pity on the hanyou that never smiled." His comment garnered a playful punch from said hanyou.

"You guys sure have changed since then," Sango gave them a small smile. "Especially you, Inuyasha."

"Thank goodness for that."

The group laughed at Inuyasha's comment and when it died down, they finished the rest of the tea in silence, all lost in their own train of thoughts. Kagome's outburst had transported them back to memories long-buried, but most of them were wounds that had already healed. Sango and Miroku had found happiness in raising a family, one that brought them joy and peace.

Inuyasha, on the other hand, still had a few sore spots that only festered if he thought about them. He had yet to find that happiness that his friends had found with each other. He almost felt as if he didn't deserve it, but that didn't stop him from craving it. He wondered how fresh Kagome's wounds were.

The gang dispersed from the table, agreeing to discuss the quest that had been given to them by Jakotsu when Kagome woke up.

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After everything that had gone on, the gang went their separate ways to rest. Inuyasha was still feeling a little rattled by the events that had just transpired and when he thought about it, he still didn't know what Kagome had meant when she said that she had killed a little boy. He guessed he would have to wait until she woke up to find out for sure.

Feeling the stress of the day press on him, he dropped onto the couch feeling like a ton of rocks and flipped on the TV. There wasn't anything a few mindless hours of television couldn't fix—at least, not for him. He flipped to a random channel and leaned back lazily onto the couch. He didn't pay too much attention to what was on, instead letting the soft sounds of the commercials create a soothing, almost unnoticeable background.

Suddenly, something flashed on the screen. The words **"URGENT NEWS" **were showcased in bold red letters and a newscaster with a bad haircut filled the screen. Inuyasha immediately sat up, increasing the volume from his remote. He usually watched these things just to make sure there wasn't anything he should be worried about.

"A young boy was hit by a car earlier in the downtown area while trying to get to an ice cream truck. The driver of the car was slightly intoxicated and speeding down the residential street. According to our sources, the driver didn't see the boy until it was too late. Although he is in critical condition, he is expected to live—all because of the actions of an unknown hero. A woman aged about mid-twenties witnessed the accident and rushed the boy to the hospital on foot, arriving with just enough time for doctors to save the young child. The woman is said to look something like this."

Inuyasha's mouth fell open and his eyes nearly fell out of his head as a picture of Kagome in her wig flashed up on screen.

He was up in a flash."Miroku!" Inuyasha opened the door to where his friend was sprawled on the bed. Miroku shot up and groggily looked around.

"Get up, now!" Inuyasha commanded before running across the hall and banging on the girls' door. "Sango! Sango!" The chest-nut haired opened the door looking annoyed.

"Why are you screaming like a crazy person? Do you want to blow our cover?" She shot him an annoyed look. "Plus, Kagome is still asleep." She whispered angrily, glancing back to see that her friend was slumbering as if she hadn't heard a thing.

"Our cover may already be blown. What Kagome was talking about earlier—she saved a little boy's life! People saw her; they did a newscast about it and put up a picture of her. They said she was sighted downtown." Inuyasha explained. "I'm pretty sure that anyone from Sector 8 would have recognized her, and thanks to the news, they have a general idea of where we are. We have to move now or we're sitting ducks." He whispered urgently.

"You've got to be kidding me!" Sango shouted, eyes wide like a startled animal.

"Start packing!" Inuyasha yelled before turning back towards his room.

Like a whirlwind, Sango and the two men tore through the rooms, packing up everything and getting rid of any sign that they were ever there. They threw the suitcases in the car and got in, stopping to think if they forgot anything.

"Kagome!" Inuyasha exclaimed, mentally slapping himself on the forehead. Fumbling to unbuckle himself, he bolted to go grab his companion. How could they forget her?! She was the reason they were doing this. Inuyasha ran back into the hotel and begged the receptionist to give him the key to the room again.

"You just turned it in," she said annoyingly, smacking on her gum and examining her nails disinterestedly. Inuyasha stared at her, a deadpan look on his face. He had to fight the urge to smack himself on the forehead—or worse—to smack her.

"Listen," he all but hissed, beginning to explain himself again. "Our friend is asleep in the room."

"So? Go knock and wake her up."

"She's not feeling well." He closed his eyes in frustration. "I can knock all I want and she probably won't hear me. I need the key so I can go back in and get her."

"How do I know you're not going to steal anything?"

He rolled his eyes. "I would have stolen it the first time around." What was there to steal from this hotel anyhow? The toilet paper that crumbled when you wiped? No, he didn't think so. After a moment of more gum smacking, the receptionist handed Inuyasha the key and called behind him,

"I hope you bring that back."

Inuyasha rolled his eyes and jogged towards the room. In a rush, he burst into the room to find Kagome still asleep in a heap in the bed where they'd left her; dark hair spread around her like a halo. Inuyasha let out a sigh of relief, finally slowing down from his rushed pace and walked over to the bed.

"Kagome," he whispered, gently shaking her shoulder. She mumbled something incoherently before falling silent again. "Kagome, come on, we've got to go." Inuyasha let out a groan as he realized she wasn't going to wake up and scooped her up in his arms. He had just gotten into the hallway when he spotted someone he hoped he wouldn't see again.

He stopped dead in his tracks as Kagome's old roommate walked down the hallway. Her back was turned to him so there was a chance that she hadn't seen him. Trying to make as little noise as possible, the hanyou inched towards the staircase at the far end of the hall.

He had to get out and fast, but he had to make sure they didn't get caught because he was sure Kagura had a gun and there was no way he could fight her off, not with Kagome in her half comatose state. He tightened his grip on Kagome and she let out a low whimper.

"Sshh," He mumbled into her ear to soothe her. His heart was jumping around in his throat as he slowly made his way down the hall. After what felt like an eternity, Inuyasha was able to silently slip into the staircase and rush down the stairs to the lobby.

"The key?" The gum-smacking receptionist asked. Inuyasha all but threw it at her. Once outside, he let out a breath he hadn't known he was holding. He had this strange feeling in his chest when he thought about all of the possibilities that could have gone wrong. Kagura could have gotten Kagome, could have captured her to take back to Sector 8 to be tortured—or worse. The thought made his heart stop.

'_But she's okay.' H_e reminded himself, hugging her to his body.

Kagome unconsciously snuggled into Inuyasha, burrowing her head into the crook of his neck.

"Inuyasha?" she asked sleepily.

"Everything's okay now; I've got you. Go back to sleep."

Man, was this mission was messing with his head.

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**A/N: Sorry this is a little late. I actually had this chapter with Bella's part for a couple of days, but my Capstone project was taking all of my time. Thankfully, I finally got this out. Feedback and comments are very much appreciated.**


	9. Whirlwind

**A/N: Here's the next chapter. Thank you for all of the alerts, favorites and reviews.**

** Disclaimer: I think I speak for the both of us (Bella and I) when I say that we could only wish in our wildest dreams that Inuyasha could be all ours.**

** Chapter 9: Whirlwind**

"Damn," Kagura murmured to herself as she looked about the room she had picked locked through. She had felt victory so near , but her heart had sunk to see nobody inside; in fact, it looked like no one had ever been in the small, dirty motel suite in the first place. Kagura growled to herself as she pounced from room to room. Nothing in the kitchen looked touched, neither the bathroom or the bedroom that was closest to her.

She hit the wall in frustration.

She hated this! She hated running around, the snooping, everything—especially, the fact that she had failed once more. If Naraku were to find out . . . hell, he probably already knew. Nothing slipped passed that man.

Well, except for Inuyasha and Kagome, of course.

Kagura stood there, silently running through the information she had been able to gather in her mind. Inuyasha's background was not hard to find out; most of it was already known in Sector 8. His father had been a prominent figure in the campaign of the unification of humans and demons. He had married a human woman, one—according to the sources she had been able to squeeze information out—that he loved very much. As a result, Inuyasha was born, but the extremists didn't take it lightly. Inuyasha's father died saving his family. His mother died of tuberculosis when he was ten.

Kagura couldn't much sympathize; she had never known her parents. The earliest memory she had was of waking up in a alley, and seeing a young man standing in from of her . . .

"Agh," Kagura gasped, grasping her head as a sudden pain hit her. Why was it that every time she got a flicker of that memory, she always came out with a headache? She just didn't understand. Shaking her head to dissipate the weird feeling, she continued with her mental review.

Going to the shrine had proven to not be a waste of time—she had discovered a plethora of information on Kagome's past, one that she had always been curious about. The caretakers of the shrine knew the history that had occurred there; apparently they had been friends with Kagome in her high-school years. A lie here and a lie there and she had them convinced that she was Kagome's friend.

It was then that she had been able to get to the meat of the story. Kagome's family had been murdered while she had been at school and a neighbor who had come to ask for a cup of sugar discovered the bodies. Kagome later came upon the scene and rushed inside. She had been sixteen. As a result, Kagome's friend—Ayumi, was it?— said that she dropped out of school and got sucked into gambling. They stopped hearing from her after a few weeks and since then they hadn't seen hide or hair of her.

Kagura, though, could account for that space of time, though she didn't verbalize it to Kagome's old friend. Instead, she had thanked her and walked down the long shrine steps. At last she knew what had driven Kagome to Sector 8. Gambling debts and an old vendetta seemed like a mix-matched pair, but she had seen far more odder things. It was likely that Naraku cleared all her debts upon her entry and had promised to aid in her search of her family's killer.

It was now that Kagura understood Naraku's choice in forgoing the usual mind-washing. Kagome didn't need to be taught to hate; she did that easily on her own. That seemed like the only similarity with Inuyasha's case anyhow. At least Kagura knew there was method to the madness.

Still, the choice had backfired; she was here wasn't she? After getting a tip off the local news, Kagura thought she had finally managed to catch a break. She thought that she could finally regain her freedom, but the possibilities had slipped through her fingers to quick for her to catch. They ran before she could get to them.

Kagura had to restrain herself from punching a wall; no doubt she would make a hole in the thin, plaster wall. Paying for damages was not on her to-do list. Turning out of the room, she slammed the door with as much force as she could muster.

There was no way in hell she would let them slip away again.

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"I can't believe we almost left without her," Sango sighed angrily in the backseat where her friend now lay curled up. "We're horrible."

"Sango, dearest," Miroku turned in the front seat to his wife. "It was an honest mistake."

"LEAVING A FRIEND BEHIND IS AN _HONEST MISTAKE_?" Sango bellowed, grabbing her husband by the collar and pulling him."That's negligence! Abandonment! What if Inuyasha hadn't been there in time to avoid getting caught by Kagura?!"

"Sango," Inuyasha sighed in exasperation. "Your screeching is hurting my ears. And could you please sit down?"

Sango huffed and grudgingly let go of her husband's shirt, grumbling under her breath at his insensitiveness. "I still feel horrible."

"Look," Inuyasha glanced at the raging brunette through the mirror. "The fact of the matter is that we got out. Can you just drop it? It's really late and I'd like to concentrate on the road."

Sango shut her mouth, but glared at Inuyasha from her peripheral vision, wondering where he had gotten the guts to actually tell to shut up. She shrugged, crossed her arms and promptly began staring out the window.

Inuyasha sighed in relief when Sango threw up her white flag. He was glad she hadn't gone ballistic on him like she had with Miroku. That wouldn't have easy to deal with while trying to drive. It had already been hours since they had scrammed, but Inuyasha was afraid to stop. What if Kagura caught up to them? What if someone else did? Inuyasha's mind churned with unanswered questions.

Like, why had Kagome been so bent on the fact that she had killed a little boy when in reality she had saved his life? He understood that it hit too close to home, but surely she would have remembered carrying a young child to a hospital. At least, he thought so.

"I wonder . . ." Inuyasha whispered out loud.

"About Kagome's outburst?" Miroku said sleepily from his seat.

"How'd you guess?"

"You got this weird face, like you were thinking really hard." Miroku slightly smirked at his friend, but decided he was too tired to tease him about him. "Besides, I was thinking about it too. Sango would have too if she still wasn't so peeved about Kagura."

"I resent that."

Miroku smiled. "Of course you do, my dear." He then turned to Inuyasha.

"Well?"

The half-demon shrugged, confusion pulling at his features. "I just can't put her reaction and the situation together. She came back to us screaming that she had killed a child when really she had saved him." He glanced at his silent friend. "What do you think?"

Miroku's eyes were closed and his forehead was pinched in concentration. "I think it was just the fact that the child was close to her brother's age. She obviously feels guilty about being the only member of her family that survived."

"So what? You think her brain just blocked her mind?

Miroku cracked open one eye. "I think that's a reasonable explanation. She must've acted on pure instincts to take that child to the hospital. It's possible that she wasn't aware of what she was doing at all."

"Really?"

"Yes," His friend nodded. "The sight must have triggered her memories and the reaction she experienced was from the fact she couldn't have done anything in the past."

"I understand that it hurts her," Inuyasha spoke. "But to react like that . . . to be bawling in tears on the floor . . . it just blows me away."

"It's possible she hasn't healed at all," came Sango's quiet voice from the backseat. Both mean glanced at her as she continued to stare outside. "She has a vendetta and I'm pretty sure she's grasped to it all her life ever since that day." She sighed, glancing at the peaceful form of her friend. "She hasn't _let_ herself heal and that's why she reacts so strongly."

"Why, Sango, I didn't know you knew psychology so well."

Sango threw him a rueful smile. "It was one of my specialties back in Sector 8."

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Kagome became aware of the soft rocking motion and instantly sat up, rubbing at her eyes and turning to see that Sango was asleep at her side, and Miroku asleep in the passenger's seat. As she mentally checked them off, that only left one person to drive.

"Inuyasha?"

Inuyasha's ears perked up on their own accord at the sound of Kagome's sleep riddled voice. He risked a glance back at his companion in the gentle glowing light from the dashboard. She still had that haunted look in her eyes; it just wasn't as bad as before.

"You feeling okay now?" He whispered softly, as to not wake up his sleeping friends. Kagome glanced down at her hands, tears welling in her eyes as the memories from earlier brought back the full force of her pent up emotions.

"Hey," Inuyasha called, smelling her tears. Slowly, he brought the car to a stop and stepped out. Kagome stared at his empty seat bewilderedly until her door opened and the hanyou held out a hand. Tentatively, Kagome unbuckled herself and set her hand in Inuyasha's, surprised at the comforting feel of his rough fingers closing around hers. She stepped into the cool darkness of the night with him.

"Why are you so upset?"

"I killed that boy, Inuyasha. I was the one who gave him the money for the ice cream. I'm the reason he ran across the street and got hit!" Kagome turned away, tears falling freely. "And I just stood there! It's my fault that woman's son is dead!" The anger Kagome was feeling was clear in her voice.

Inuyasha let out a long suffering sigh and stooped so he was eye level with the raven-haired girl in front of her. "Kagome, he's not dead. Hurt, but definitely not dead. You gave him money for ice cream; that's not a crime. The person that was driving the car was drunk and speeding. It was their fault the kid got hit, not yours." A small smile then played on his lips. "Besides, you don't remember, but you took the boy to the hospital. Ran there with him. He's okay. He's going to live."

Kagome narrowed her eyes at Inuyasha. "How would you know? You weren't even there."

"A lot of people saw you running with him and told the news. They did a really big broadcast about it and showed a picture of you. That compromised our location and Kagura almost got to you. That's why we had to leave the hotel so abruptly." He took her hands in his in earnest. "You're a hero, Kagome, not a murderer."

"You mean it? You're telling the truth?" Oh, how she wanted to believe those words.

Inuyasha flashed her a wicked grin. "Would I lie to you?"

Kagome laughed softly, smiling a smile that rivaled the sun and threw her arms around Inuyasha's neck. Inuyasha jumped a little and Kagome pulled away frowning a bit.

"Sorry, you surprised me. Come here," He explained opening his arms.

Without a second thought, Kagome melded herself into the space. Inuyasha rested his chin on top of her head and breathed in the floral scent of her hair. Everything about this moment seemed so ___right__. _The feeling of Kagome resting in his arms, the slight rise and fall of her chest against his, her scent—it all _screamed_ rightness. Almost as if it were meant to be. He could feel this something building in his chest. Something he hadn't felt in years. Comprehending, Inuyasha froze.

No, no, this was wrong. He wasn't made for relationships. Not only had he never been in one, but he was a hanyou—a half demon. He was a freak of nature, a hybrid. There was always the risk of him falling victim to his darker side. He couldn't risk hurting someone he loved and not being able to help it. It would ruin him completely. Besides, relationships between hanyous and humans were frowned upon. No one could truly love him—it just didn't happen. He didn't expect anyone to ever be able to feel that way about him, especially not Kagome.

Inuyasha dropped his arms from Kagome's waist and backed away, ignoring the sour look Kagome gave him.

"We'd better go. We've been in one spot for too long," He spoke in a hard voice, refusing to look at the raven-haired girl in the eye. He turned his back to Kagome and strode over to his side of the car, not waiting to see if she followed suit.

Kagome's brows furrowed as she stared at his retreating form. What was all that about? First, he was comforting her and then they were sharing a nice moment and then this? She couldn't keep up with his mood swings and she definitely couldn't read his motives. It left her head spinning; she didn't know what to think. She couldn't keep taking the whirlwind of emotions he went through, especially one where she was inevitably going to get caught up in. With a final shake of her head, she got into the car and they drove away.

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"I can drive so you can rest." Sango offered, leaning forward in her seat. Inuyasha had driven all night and she was sure he had to be tired. The hanyou in question shook his head, not offering any other form of reply.

"You know, in a couple of hours we're going to have to catch a boat to the island and you won't have a chance to rest then. It'll be nothing but action until we're done with the mission. Go ahead and take a break." Sango once again urged, hoping he'd take the bait.

"I'm fine." Inuyasha mumbled.

Sango frowned. "Get your butt back here and rest. I'm not having you die on my watch because you're too stupid to know when to stop and relax."

"I don't need to rest."

"Stop. The. Car." Sango commanded in a deadly voice that no one could refuse.

With an annoyed grunt, Inuyasha pulled the car over and switched seats with Sango, slamming the door shut. Miroku stared back at Inuyasha, trying to figure out why he was so upset, but quickly turned around when he met his peeved golden gaze.

Inuyasha stared out the window and let out a sigh. The last place he wanted to be was sitting next to Kagome. Not after last night. He'd pissed her off. He didn't know how he had, but she hadn't talked to or even acknowledged him at all since last night. He didn't have to turn around to look at her to feel the angry vibes she was sending his way. He didn't want to say anything either, he'd had enough experience with angry females to know that—no matter the species, human or youkai- that you did **_NOT_**ask them what you did to make them mad because it only made things worse. If they were mad, it was best to wait until they cooled down a bit and apologize. Guess he'd have to wait until then. In the meantime, he leaned his head back against the seat and drifted off.

The door Inuyasha was leaning against swung open and he barely stopped himself from falling out. He glared up to meet an equally angry pair of brown eyes.

"Put these on and let's go. We don't have time to waste. " Kagome bit out icily, throwing a bag in his lap before walking away. Inuyasha glanced into the bag to find some clothing. They weren't what he would normally wear—they were more of a skater style—but he could tell they would fit. Accompanying this were a pair of shades, some vans and a beanie. Inuyasha frowned. He really didn't want to wear this, but then again, the whole purpose of the disguise was to mask his identity. Groaning internally, he followed his friends over to the rest stop where they were all presumably changing in the restrooms. Inuyasha found a stall, which wasn't hard seeing as they were the only ones at the rest stop, and changed into the outfit. He stepped out a minute later feeling self-conscious.

___I'll bet she did this on purpose. _But as soon as he thought it, he knew he was wrong. Kagome hadn't been mad at him when she went shopping. She probably just went for what she knew he wouldn't because it would hide him the best. When Inuyasha saw Miroku step out a moment later he immediately began to laugh.

Miroku was wearing dark wash jeans, a pale yellow button up and a cardigan with a pair of glasses to complete the look. "Wow, Miroku. You look—" Inuyasha couldn't even begin to say how nerdy his best friend looked. Miroku just shrugged.

"I kind of like it. At least my pants don't show off my nonexistent butt." Miroku teased. Inuyasha's smile immediately fell into a frown. "I'm just kidding, man." The hanyou shook his head and left the bathroom, Miroku following close behind.

The girls' outfits weren't drastic changes like the guys were. Both ladies had changed into fitted jeans and t shirts. Sango had a white tee with a red cardigan over that and Kagome pulled a blue hoodie over her own shirt. Sango's chestnut hair now hung around her shoulders instead of her mid back and Kagome's long tresses had been braided into a single braid that she tucked into her hoodie.

"Sango dear, your hair!" Miroku exclaimed dramatically upon seeing his wife's haircut.

"It'll grow back in a few months," She replied with a sigh.

"You're next." Kagome brandished a pair of scissors.

Miroku's face was bewildered as he backed away. "What? I never signed up for this!"

"Shut up and sit down will you? I didn't cry and my hair was longer than yours," Sango rolled her eyes, struggling to hold Miroku still so Kagome could snip the ponytail from the back of his head. When the deed was done Miroku seemed to go into a state of shock, staring at the lock of hair while Sango tried to soothe her husband. Inuyasha stood a ways off from the group, sulking about who knew what.

"Let's go. We've got a ferry to catch." Kagome reminded the group of their task. They wandered back to the car and took their previous seats. Again, Kagome resumed her coolness and Inuyasha wondered how to approach her. It wasn't until they were on the ferry, moving towards the island that Inuyasha was able to find the time to talk to her. She was leaning against the railing of the boat, staring out into the distance, probably looking at the retreating city.

"Hey, Kagome," He said softly, leaning against the railing next to her. Kagome let out a breath and turned towards the hanyou, her expression not betraying anything.

"Yeah?" she queried.

"You're upset with me." He stated quietly, knowing already.

"Because you keep toying with my emotions." Kagome exhaled heavily. "One moment you're sweet and trying to make me feel better, and then you're acting like you like me or something and then the next thing I know I'm getting the cold shoulder!" She glanced up in frustration at Inuyasha. "I don't know what you're trying to pull, but I don't have time for it." Kagome turned away, her sharp words hanging over Inuyasha's head like a weight. He hadn't meant to toy with her emotions; he just hadn't been able to figure out his own, or what to do about them.

"That's not what I meant to do."

"Go play whatever game this is with someone else. I'm done, Inuyasha."

"I never meant to hurt you. I like you a lot—"

Kagome's eyes hardened and she put up a hand, stopping Inuyasha mid-sentence. "Don't do this. Don't mess with my head." Kagome spoke gravely, turning away from him. Inuyasha's heart sank. She didn't believe him. And now she was walking away from him.

"Kagome, please!" Inuyasha reached out to grab Kagome's wrist and pulled her against him. He held her tight to his chest despite her struggles to get out of his embrace.

"I really meant what I said. I never meant to hurt you. I love you, Kagome. I love you." The words tumbled out of his mouth before he could think about them twice. Inuyasha felt all the emotions that hadn't made sense before—how his heart fluttered when she was near, how he couldn't bear to see her hurt, how he just wanted to keep holding her like this—_click_. He continued, afraid that if he didn't, he'd lose his chance to speak his feelings. "I'm just confused about what to do. I've never felt like this before, I—it scares me. I've never been in a relationship before. I don't know how to act—" And then he spoke his biggest confession, spoken very softly. "I'm afraid."

Kagome's body stilled and Inuyasha loosened his grip enough for her to take a step away from him. When she did, Inuyasha noted the wetness trailing down her face.

"Why'd you have to do this right before a mission?" She said, her voice soft as a whisper before turning and running away from him.

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**A/N: Woah. That whole last part—that was all Bella. Inuyasha has come to term with his feelings—now how will that affect the rest of the mission, especially if Kagome walked away from him? Keep yourselves tuned to this story and you'll find out.**

** Please review! Feedback is greatly appreciated.**

**~Daichi**


	10. Letting you in

******A/N: Wow! So many reviews! Thank you so much. Bell and I appreciate them a lot!**

******Disclaimer: We don't own Inuyasha.**

******Chapter 10: ********Letting you in**

He was an idiot. A _complete_ i_diot_. Inuyasha gripped the railing hard, causing it to dent in his hands. His blubbering mouth had made her cry. ___Stupid, stupid, stupid, _his mind shouted at him and Inuyasha let his head fall into his hands.

This had all spiraled out of control so quickly. The sinking feeling is his stomach wouldn't go away now that he had seen Kagome's tears. He hadn't realized how she would take it—he'd actually thought that maybe she'd like him too. But of course that was too good to be true. Who would love him, especially a woman like her?

He saw no use of standing there—he needed someone to talk to. Quickly heading down below, he fled to the sanctuary of his room and best friend.

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"Damn it," Kagome hissed as she roughly brushed her tears away, but no matter how hard she tried, new ones replaced them. She lay on her bed and buried herself in her pillow.

Why did it have to be this way? Kagome didn't know if Inuyasha was being sincere or if it was the urgency of the mission that had made him say those words to her. She didn't know if she wanted to believe him or not.

Who could ever love her? With all the blood on her hands, she'd be happy to die once her revenge was complete. She hadn't needed anyone in the past but now—now her wall had crumbled. She really hadn't seen it coming—even her own feelings had still been in that 'experimental' stage. But when he said he loved her, her heart had dropped and sped up at the same time. Why were her feelings so damn contradictory? Why couldn't she be happy?

She knew, deep down, that it was because she might lose him. Just like every other person she had ever loved. It was a curse, one that she didn't want to hurt Inuyasha with. In the small amount of time that she had spent with him, he'd managed to get under her skin. And like almost every stubborn thing in the world, he wasn't budging.

The door opened and Kagome quickly sat up, trying to hide the evidence of her tears but it was of no use. Sango was a mother, after all.

"Kagome, what's wrong?" She gasped when she saw her friend's tear-streaked face. Kagome looked away, the embarrassment evident in her face. Sango placed a hand gently on her shoulder, silently comforting her. "Please, Kagome. Tell me what's wrong."

"Oh, Sango." Kagome sighed, turning to her friend. "I just don't know what to do anymore." She burst into fresh tears as Sango pulled her in a hug.

"What do you mean?" Sango asked.

Kagome pulled back and grabbed a tissue to wipe her nose with. "Well, Inuyasha and I were on the deck and well—"

"He didn't try anything did he?"

"No! Nothing like that." Kagome sighed, looking down at her hands. "He said he loved me."

There was silence, but Kagome didn't dare look up for fear of her face showing exactly what that did to her.

"I knew it!" Sango jumped up, all of a sudden, a wild smile spreading on her face. "Oooh, I knew there was something there! But wait," She glanced at Kagome, her smile gone and replaced with worry. "You don't feel anything for him?"

Kagome groaned and flopped backwards onto the bed. "That's the issue! I don't know if I do—it's like part of me does and part of me doesn't. I don't understand my own feelings!"

Sango sat down next to the distraught girl and looked at her very seriously. "Kagome, is it possible that you feel that way because you're scared?"

"Scared?" Kagome echoed, looking up at the ceiling.

"Yes, scared." Sango nodded.

The raven haired girl barely whispered, "I'm terrified."

"Terrified of what?"

"Of losing him." Kagome sighed, rolling over to her side. Her back to Sango, she continued. "Everyone I love ends up dead one way or another. He would only be cursed if I were to love him, Sango."

Sango sighed sadly. The trauma of losing her family had caused Kagome to close herself off to loving someone, in fear that they too would be ripped away from her like her family had. The brunette knew that this defense mechanism was buried deep into her mind. If only she could see—but Sango wasn't going to be able to convince her in one conversation. Instead, she was going to try to help her clarify her feelings and worry about the rest later.

"So you do care about him?"

Kagome was caught off guard. "What?"

"I understand what you're feeling Kagome, truly I do, but you wouldn't be feeling this way if he wasn't important to you." She paused and grabbed her friend's hands. "That's the answer to your earlier question. You care for him, and I suspect, deeply."

The raven-haired girl sighed, almost as if in defeat. "I—I guess I already knew. But what now? I ran away from Inuyasha. In tears, to make matters worse."

"Kagome, just give yourself some time." Sango smiled softly. "If Inuyasha meant what he said, he won't give up that easily. Just, be open about all this, okay? Don't write off love yet."

"Thank you for talking to me." Kagome smiled. "You're a great friend."

"I'll always be there for you." Sango smiled, satisfied. "Now you should get some sleep so you can take on tomorrow, alright?"

"Alright."

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"Miroku man, I screwed up so bad."

His friend glanced up from the magazine he was reading, an expecting look on his face. "What exactly did you do?"

"I should've kept my mouth closed. What was I thinking? I ruin everything!" Inuyasha groaned frustratedly.

"Inuyasha, you've got to tell me what you did so I can help you." Miroku laid a comforting hand on his friend's shoulder. He could feel how tense he was; he wondered what exactly it was he had done to make him act like this.

Inuyasha's shoulders slumped. "I told Kagome I loved her. I just sprung it on her and ran away from me crying."

Miroku's eyes shot up in surprise. He'd told Kagome he loved her? That didn't seem like something he would do at all. Totally not Inuyasha-like at all.

"Wow. Why do you think she did that?"

"She thought I was lying to her. That I was just playing a game with her emotions. I would never do that." And he meant it. He had his share of women to satisfy his needs throughout the years, but he'd never said he loved them. Never said anything near those words, maybe a polite, "Thanks," but he'd never even hinted at caring about them; not in that way. He cared about Kagome. He would never play with her heart like that. She meant too much to him to hurt her that way.

"I don't know what to do," He morosely whispered looking at his feet. It was his first time he'd said those words in over a decade and this happened. He was crushed. Miroku sensed this.

"Just give her some time and a little space, but whatever you do, don't give up. If you keep showing her little by little that you care she'll have no choice but to believe you. Trust me, she'll come around."

"You're sure?" Inuyasha's voice was laced with hope.

"How do you think I got Sango?" Miroku said flashing Inuyasha a knowing smirk.

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"Let's go get dinner," Sango said tugging on Kagome's hand as if she were a child that needed persuading.

"Can't we just order something from room service?" Kagome frowned. She didn't weigh that much. Why the heck couldn't Sango pull her off of the bed?

"No, that's no fun! How often do you get to say that you've had dinner on a boat?" Sango rested her hands on her hips, head tilted to the side and a playful smile on her face. Kagome sighed. She did have a point.

"Sango," It sounded like Kagome was going to make an excuse, but instead she sat up.

"Come on now, go clean yourself up and put on a pretty shirt. We're gonna enjoy ourselves tonight." Sango pushed her friend to the bathroom, a sneaky smile working its way onto her face as she watched Kagome relent and get ready.

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"Come on Inuyasha! Ot'll do you some good to get out of this room. Let's just go and have dinner and then if you want, we'll come back to the room to stay until we reach the island."

Inuyasha glared up at Miroku. He just wanted to stay in the room and wallow in self-pity before he had to face anyone again, but Miroku was making that impossible. Maybe he was right though, maybe all he needed was a nice hot meal with his best friend to forget his problems.

At least there would be alcohol.

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"Once everything is over we should have a spa day."

"Oh, that would be great! It would give us a chance to de-stress and—" Kagome stopped dead in her tracks when she saw the flash of silver hair.

She blanched. "You know what? I'm not so hungry anymore." Kagome began turning back towards the room, hopefully before Sango saw the other two of their party.

"No, no, no." Sango caught Kagome by the arm, whirled her around and hauled her towards the table. "You guys have some issues that you need to work out. Now sit." Sango commanded, in that firm motherly tone that Kagome wouldn't dare disobey. She did as she was told and Miroku excused himself from the table, flashing the others a brief smile.

"Sango and I are going to have a nice dinner and we'll be a couple of tables over. We'll see if either of you leaves early. Don't even try it." Miroku skewered the two young adults with his glare. "Now, have a nice meal," He said pleasantly before taking Sango's hand and leading her away.

There was an awkward silence as the odd couple tried to avoid the inevitable. Finally, Kagome looked up to see the golden gaze already trained on her face.

"Just so you know, I was tricked into this," Kagome stated, a slight pout on her lips. Inuyasha stared at the pink pieces before pulling his line of sight back up to Kagome's eyes.

"I was too," he said simply. There was an awkward silence as the two of them both tried to figure out what to say. Finally Inuyasha spoke up.

"I didn't mean to hurt you," He blurted out. Again. Before Kagome could interrupt him, he continued. "I'm sorry if I freaked you out by telling you that I loved you. I know that it was really unprofessional, but I meant every word that I said. We can just forget that I ever said anything and once we're finished with the mission if you never want to speak to me or see me again I understand."

Kagome just stared at Inuyasha; that was twice in one day that he'd blind sighted her like that. Only, this time she wasn't so sure that it was a bad thing. She was starting to come to terms with what Sango had said. She couldn't be afraid of letting people in. It was the only way she'd ever be able to be happy again and enjoy life. She hadn't done so for years and look where it got her. She had killed multiple people and had a guilty conscience and was running from one of the biggest underground corporations in the country. A little bit of possible heartbreak didn't seem so bad under the circumstances.

Inuyasha waited for Kagome's answer, and when she didn't say anything, he mistook her silence for rejection and looked down at the table. When he looked up, he was surprised to see her chocolate brown eyes shining with a soft emotion he couldn't quite place.

"I'm sorry I ran away from you." Kagome glanced down at her hands folded on her lap and then at Inuyasha again. "I realize how hard that must've been for you to reveal your feelings for me. Right now, I think that since we're on a mission, we should focus on the mission and just keep things professional. Once everything blows over though . . ." She paused and met his gaze squarely. " . . . we can give things between us a try." A grin that could've lit up a dark room broke out on Inuyasha's face.

The rest of the night was spent with laughter and smiles as Kagome and Inuyasha enjoyed their meal and dessert together. Sango and Miroku headed to their rooms to get some rest, warning Kagome and Inuyasha not to stay out too long. With that warning, the two agents went up to the top of the ship to relax and talk for a little while. After about an hour or so in the coolness and salt of sea breeze, they got ready to part ways.

"Kagome," Inuyasha said scooting a little closer to Kagome where she leaned against the railing of the ship, staring up at the stars.

"Yeah?" She asked turning her gaze to Inuyasha.

"I know you said you wanted to keep things professional, but I just have to. . ."

"To what?" Before Kagome could move, Inuyasha wrapped his arms around Kagome and leaned down. His lips had just barely brushed against hers when the horn on the ship blared, letting everyone know that they had a few hours before they reached shore. The two jumped apart and then began to laugh at their situation.

"Goodnight Inuyasha."

"G'night Kagome," he said watching her walk away.

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**A/N: And that's chapter 10! I hope you guys enjoyed it. The next update may come out later because I'll be leaving to college and I have to drive there with all my things, that really should be packed by now, but I've been to lazy about it. Anyway, feedback is always appreciated. Thank you for reading.**


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